Early Childhood Development Micro-Entrepreneurs’ Financial
Countries: South Africa
Sample size: 60 participants
Research Description: Read More>>
FINBIT Corner Shop Diaries Project: 2019 to date
Countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe
Sample size: 150 participants
Project website: http://cornershop-
Research Description: The corner shop diaries project was conceptualized at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic had started to unfold. Read More>>
FINBIT Experiment Project: 2019-to date
Countries: Uganda, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe Sample size: 300 participants Duration: 34 months
Research Description: For some years now, L-IFT has developed an app named Finbit. The app is now in use. We use it for financial diaries data collection. But the app is also intended for the respondents themselves, to use for their own benefit. Read More>>
RISE Refugee Finance – Financial Diaries of Refugees Financial Behavior in Response to Financial Services: 2019-2022
Country: Uganda Sample size: 600 intake respondents and 400 baseline respondents 222 diarists respondents Duration: 34 months
Research Description: The beneficiaries for this project are OBUL and FINCA, commissioned by Opportunity International and implemented with PHB consulting services. Read More>>
Youth Research for Scale2Save: 2018-2019
Country: Nigeria, Senegal and Morocco Sample size: 354 respondents Duration: 10 months
Research Description: This project was commissioned by WSBI for its Scale2Save programme, funded by the Mastercard Foundation. This project was about understanding young people’s savings behaviour. It demonstrated the saving patterns of young people in three countries and how they compared. It investigated the scope for youth savings accounts and how these should be designed. Read More>>
Research into “Does access to renewable energy drive financial inclusion?”: 2018-2019
Country: Uganda and Kenya Sample size: 1887 respondents Duration: 10 months
Research Description: The client for this project was Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund’s REACT (renewable energy and adaptation to climate technology). REACT needed to learn whether there was evidence that access to solar resulted in financial inclusion at scale rather than just anecdotal evidence. Read More>>
Long-Term Performance and Evolution of Savings Groups in Uganda and Mali: Jan 2019- Dec 2019
Country: Uganda and Mali
Sample size: 300 groups, more than 4000 individual participants Duration: 12 months
Research Description: The clients for this project were SEEP Network and FSD Africa. SEEP is a network organization serving the savings group sector with services and studies. L-IFT studied a sample of in total 300 savings groups 8 to 9 years after they were formed. Read More>>
Survey on Access to Finance and Access to Energy in Uganda Baseline-Midline-Endline: 2016-2017
Country: Uganda Sample size: 2200 respondents Duration: 12 months
Research Description: While sufficient research is done in Uganda on access to finance and energy, few organisations have access to the data they require. L-IFT initiated research publicly accessible to the entire sector which can provide each actor with the information they require. For instance to measure impact, to test product ideas, to monitor uptake, to learn about user experience. Read More>>
Tracking Effect of Acquiring m-kopa on Energy and Financial Situation: 2016-2017
Country: Uganda Sample size: 625 respondents Duration: 12 months
Research Description: L-IFT’s financial diaries measured changes in respondents’ situation due to an M-KOPA solar system. The measurement was in detail (before and after) and measured what m-kopa’s effect was, when it started to take effect, showing for instance whether the effects developed gradually or happened suddenly. Read More>>
What Women Want (3W): 2017-2018
Country: Myanmar Sample size: 800 respondents Duration: 17 months
Research Description: A financial diaries study with women micro-entrepreneurs in Myanmar conducted for BRAC and MFIL. The diaries will reveal what women micro-entrepreneurs’ current pain points and priorities are. BRAC will use the information from the L-IFT diaries to design improved individual loans. MFIL They will use the financial diaries to develop both savings for micro entrepreneurs and new loan products. Access the data portal here.
Financial and Energy Diaries in Uganda (FEDU): 2016-2017
Country: Uganda Sample size: 588 respondents Duration: 9 months
Research Description: While much research has been done in Uganda regarding access to finance and even access to energy, organisations active in this field do not have access to the required data easily. L-IFT decided to conduct research that would be publicly accessible to the entire financial and energy sectors. The surveys were designed in dialogue with interested actors, and as a result the FEDU data are the go-to reference for those active on the ground.

Youth Livelihoods Diaries: 2015-2016
Country: Uganda and Ghana Sample size: 260 respondents Duration: 12 months
Research Description: The MasterCard Foundation invited L-IFT to conduct an in-depth research into youth livelihoods. This Youth Livelihoods Diaries combined research into youth’s ways of getting a job, starting a business, their activity in agriculture and their financial behaviour. The resulting data depict their mixed livelihoods: how young people achieve income from such a variety of sources and how their life consists of a multitude of different activities, cobbling a living together from different sources. Read more >>
Assessment of Financial Capability of ePSNP Recipients in Ethiopia: 2016-2017
Country: Ethiopia Sample size: 1000 respondents Duration: 6 months
Research Description: The WorldBank supports the electronic payment of PSNP, a cash transfer programme in Ethiopia. With the help of L-IFT they wanted to assess the satisfaction of the recipients with the electronic payments and the financial capability of electronic recipients. A survey of over 1000 respondents randomly selected across four regions, Key Informant Interviews and focus group discussions resulted in a rich set of data and a WorldBank publication.
Assessment of Transaction Pools for Digital Financial Services in Ethiopia: 2016-2017
Country: Ethiopia Sample size: 40 respondents Duration: 6 months
Research Description: EP hired L-IFT and PHB Development to supply the follow-on work of Ignacio Mas’s assignment for building Ethiopia’s digital financial services. The existing financial transaction pools and the possibility to turn them digital and estimates what is required to transform those with potential was assessed. Furthermore, the potential demand and drivers for adoption and rejection for certain types of digital services was studied.
Independent Impact Assessment of Proximity farm Advisory Services: Feb 2019 – May 2019
Country: Myanmar Sample size: 1800 respondents Duration: 4 months
Research Description: This project was an impact assessment done on farmers for Proximity and MDF. The farmers in the intervention attended information sessions provided by Proximity extensions workers and were informed of two new techniques, one related to selecting good quality seed and another one in relation to the right timing and quantity of fertilizer application. Read More>>

School Finance: 2016
Country: Kenya Sample size: 90 schools Duration: 4 months
Research Description: Opportunity International supported a partner Microfinancing Institution in Kenya with expanding its EduFinance. They needed to understand what financial services schools currently use and what services they need. Based on a school survey and a survey among parents, L-IFT designed a cashless fee collection of a cash-flow management loan product.
Irrigation diaries for MicroInsurance Academy: 2016
Country: India Sample size: 420 respondents Duration: 4 months
Research Description: The MicroInsurance Academy in India had been collecting data on rain fall, irrigation and other agricultural practices and direct soil moisture measurements through diaries. MIA hired L-IFT to order all the available data, identify which data could be used, develop hypotheses regarding the potential correlations and test these correlations. L-IFT wrote the comprehensive research report suitable for peer review and academic publications.
Youth Start impact assessment through financial diaries research: 2014-15
Country: Ethiopia and Togo Sample size: 280 respondents Duration: 9 months
Research Description: YouthStart is a large project implemented by UNCDF in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation with 11 MFI partners in 10 countries. The programme reached 400,000 youth with savings accounts. L-IFT conducted a detailed impact research into the project’s beneficiaries and made recommendations for improvement. The research also provided a deeper understanding of the youth it targeted regarding their behaviour, attitudes, skills and knowledge.