Background: Financial service providers were planning to launch a new digital savings product for group members to contribute a small sum of money on a regular basis, often every week (round period) to help them save money. Before launching the product, they wanted to understand the market and identify key insights that would inform the product development and launch. They reached out to AfroPavo Analytics to conduct a market research study on informal savings group practice.
Solution: AfroPavo Analytics conducted a comprehensive market research study, which included online and offline surveys, interviews and focus groups with 156 correspondents representing approximately 1500 people who were currently participating in informal savings group practice.
We analyzed the data and identified key insights, such as:
Females were more likely to participate in a informal savings group practice than males.
Mobile money was the most preferred method of money transfer within the digital and office survey, but it was not a preferred method amongst MSMEs, where cash was king.
The most popular round periods were daily, weekly and monthly.
Most informal savings group practice had a participation of more than 10 people.
Transactional fees and delinquency in payments was the biggest pain point, while trust amongst members was the least faced challenge in informal savings group practice.
Based on the research findings, we provided recommendations to the Financial service providers on how to improve their digital informal savings group practice product, and how to target and engage with the target market.
Results: As a result of our market research and analysis, Financial service providers were able to gain a deeper understanding of the market for informal savings group practice, enabling them to make informed decisions about committing resources to the project. They have been able to develop a product that addresses the pain points and meets the needs of their target market. Based on the research, the product is on track to be launched successfully and attract more customers in the future.