Serving underserved customers.
WHO IS UNDERSERVED
People without formal identification People without smartphones or data People with irregular income People in areas without branches or agents People with no credit history
WHAT EXCLUDES THEM
Requirements assuming documentation Interfaces requiring data connectivity Verification that rejects imperfect records Products designed around regular salaries
WHAT TO BUILD INSTEAD
Tiered onboarding with progressive verification USSD and low-data channels Agent access for cash Flexible repayment aligned to irregular income Alternative data for credit assessment
WHAT ALTERNATIVE DATA MIGHT INCLUDE
Transaction history Airtime and utility payment patterns Agent network activity
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Data used without clear consent Inferences that entrench disadvantage Interest rates that exploit lack of alternatives
WHY THAT LAST POINT
Serving the underserved profitably is legitimate; exploiting the absence of alternatives is not.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Who is being excluded by your own process Where in the flow they are lost
WHAT TO TEST
With people who are actually underserved, not with colleagues.
WHAT TO DESIGN FOR
Low literacy, shared devices, and intermittent connectivity.
