361 by FINCA
361 by FINCA is reimagining microfinance. The 361 platform makes economic prosperity accessible to low-income entrepreneurs by enabling low-cost solutions that help people seize opportunities and build their financial health.
In the last decade, significant progress has been made towards financial inclusion. Yet, 1.3 billion people lack access to formal financial services, which means they are unable to participate fully in their local economies and build secure, resilient futures. Smallholder farmers, families on the margins, and microentrepreneurs face the most significant obstacles to achieving financial health.
Our platform offers a new way to create a 360° view of customers to better understand their financial health needs at scale and offer personalized 1-to-1 solutions to improve their livelihoods and build resilience.
The Problem:
Financial services providers (FSPs) have struggled to meet the financial health needs of their low-income customers, resulting in a lack of solutions that help customers thrive.
Inflexible, Unresponsive Products and Services
Inefficient Operations
Inability to Mobilize Data
The 361 Solution:
The 361 platform leverages modern tech architecture – smart contracts, events, APIs – to enable new levels of configurability and efficiency at the same time. We empower financial service providers to deliver flexible, integrated products and services specifically designed to meet the needs of low-income customers.
FLEXIBLE, RELEVANT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Tailored financial products designed for low-income customers
Built-in nudges to encourage good financial habits
Embedded development finance offerings to support long-term growth
…Enabling a holistic approach to supporting economic resilience
EFFICIENT OPERATIONS
Automated workflows
Re-imagined team roles and structures
Leveraged third-party infrastructure
Smart prospecting and time management
…To reduce the cost-to-serve and scale impact further, faster
REUSABLE DATA
Continuous credit worthiness assessment
Built-in impact tracking and testing
Ongoing product A/B testing
Mission monitoring
…To support long-term financial independence
The Opportunity:
361 enables institutions to solve the real financial barriers microentrepreneurs have in accessing economic opportunity and building financial health.
UNBLOCKING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
MANAGING SEASONAL
CASH FLOWS
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
Josephine, an aspiring coffee farmer in Uganda, wants to grow profitable arabica coffee but lacks solutions to manage its risks and seasonality, leaving her to focus on lower-value subsistence crops and earn below potential.
WHAT CUSTOMERS NEED
- Reverse-installment loan: pays out monthly; repayment after harvest
- Embedded with crop insurance: loan repayment scaled by observed weather outcome
ACCESSING COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACES
Clara, a groundnuts and soybean farmer in Zambia, sells her entire crop at harvest to a farmgate trader at low prices due to limited market access and immediate need for income to cover expenses and repay agricultural loans.
- Working capital loan with flexible repayment terms to alleviate pressure to sell crops immediately
- Linkages to competitive buyers and forward delivery contracts
FINANCING A
SHARED ASSET
A women’s farming club in Malawi grows a mix of rain-fed vegetables but lacks solutions to invest in a shared water pump, which could boost productivity and mitigate drought impacts, as they need a system where each pays based on water usage.
- Smart asset financing (e.g. a pay-as-you-go product) to purchase a solar water pump
- Training on the use of the water pump to convert the new technology into improved productivity
OVERCOMING
STALLED COMMERCE
Donna, a grocery owner in Uganda, sells basic household items but lacks the liquidity to buy in bulk at lower prices or keep shelves fully stocked, forcing her to close the shop during business hours to restock.
- Practical supply chain financing (e.g. buy now pay later solutions) to purchase inventory in bulk and pay once goods have been sold
- Linkages to supply chains and digital ordering platforms
Join us!
Are you seeking to leverage technology for global impact?
Are you an MFI looking to upgrade and transform your capabilities to be more cost effective and support customers’ financial health?
Are you a development organization or social enterprise that seeks to add targeted credit to your capabilities in support of your wider mission?
Let’s talk!