In May 2012, the CSFI launched the second Development Fellowship, jointly supported by Citi and the Department for International Development (DfID). This Fellowship will bridge the knowledge of the City with the markets of emerging countries and will look at how best to provide sustainable financial services to make a positive difference to some of the poorest people. 

In describing the programme, Sam Mendelson, the CSFI Fellow said: "As rapporteur of this Fellowship series, I'll be trying to present to a City audience the exciting work being done to leverage a developing understanding of the needs of the financially excluded into products that meet those needs in a sustainable way. So I will be bringing together experts across different fields to debate and explain what is being tried that works, and how the mainstream financial services sector can be more engaged in the process".

The fellowship will create four working groups (round-table discussions) on the following topics:

• Who are the clients for financial services in low and middle-income countries, and what are their needs?
• the existing financial services products that are available to poor clients;
• what City institutions are doing (and can do) to reach the unbanked and under-banked; and
• how the financial capability of these clients can be increased through technology and financial education.

All of the working groups will pull together a cross-section of experts from the City, international organisations and practitioners and academics with recent on-the-ground experience. With a 'thought-piece' written by a leading figure in the field, each working group will produce specific recommendations aimed at client needs.

Interim Reports

Working Group 1: Click here to view the report of the first Working Group - on the financial lives and needs of the un(der)banked. For the Executive Summary of this report, please click here.

Working Group 2: Click here to view the report of the second Working Group - focusing on products. For the Executive Summary of this report, please click here.

Working Group 3: Click here to view the report of the third Working Group - focusing on capability. For the Executive Summary of this report, please click here.

Round-tables

October 22, 2012 A Citi/DfID/CSFI Development Fellowship Working Group-3 planning round-table.

October 9, 2012 A Citi DiID CSFI Development Fellowship round-table discussion on Microinsurance – Working Group 2, with Sam Mendelson (CSFI Fellow), Richard Leftley (Microinsure) and Graham Wright (MicroSave).

• Working Group 2: Executive Summary (click here).

July 3, 2012 CSFI Development Fellowship: Setting the agenda for Working Group 2. A round-table discussion with Sam Mendelson(Citi/DfID CSFI Fellow).

June 12, 2012 A CITI/DfID/CSFI Development Fellowship round-table discussion with Sam Mendelson (CSFI), Rosalind Copasorow, Sukhwinder Arora (Oxford Policy Management), Sarah Livingstone (Maxwell Stamp).