Overview
This Report covers the evaluation of the merchant development driving rural markets (MDDRM) component in Bangladesh under the Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (SHIFT) programme in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. Focusing on the provision of digital services, including digital financial services (DFS), MDDRM sought to greater growth and competitiveness of retail micro merchants (MMs) through stronger integration with the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and financial services value chains. To these ends, it targeted the four districts of Jamalpur, Sherpur, Sirajganj, and Tangail and, in line with the four workstreams of the global strategy of UNCDF’s Inclusive Digital Economies (IDE) Practice Area, was structured around four pillars and outputs; namely: (i) Pillar 1 Data and analysis – relevant information and data on MMs are available and accessible to policy makers/regulators and private sector actors for information, action and formulation of policies/regulations and business decisions; (ii) Pillar 2 Capacity development – capacity building tools, information and support services are developed and provided to MMs for improvement of their skills, business operations and practices; (iii) Pillar 3 Policy and advocacy – awareness, education and advocacy events are provided to MMs and consumers (policy makers/regulators, private sector actors) for increasing understanding of products, services, rights, and responsibilities; and (iv) Pillar 4 Innovation incentives - business models are piloted with DFS and FMCG providers utilizing MM networks reaching rural low-income consumers. Funded by the European Union (EU), the MDDRM component was implemented between February 2017 and March 2021 in parallel with another initiative (i.e. the policy advocacy component) financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) until March 2019.