Mobile Money Snapshot: PROSHAR Cash for Work Program

The program aims to improve the living conditions of ultra-poor and deprived populations by increasing their income, improving maternal and child health, improving nutritional status through the production of nutrient-fortified agricultural products, and increasing people's knowledge of natural disasters. The Cash for Work program has three primary goals: to produce agricultural products to meet the food demand in the region and beyond, to create local employment through direct and indirect employment-generating opportunities, and to improve the nutritional status of the region by promoting the production and consumption of nutrient-fortified agricultural products. The target group is day laborers involved in the agricultural sector who work in the catchment area of the project, which consists of three upazillas in Khulna division. ACDI/VOCA has disbursed over BDT 50,000,000 (approximately USD $666,667) to over 5,000 laborers in the last two and a half years using mobile payments. Each laborer receives BDT 250 (approximately USD $3.33) for each day worked. The laborers use the mobile money they receive to cash out and purchase household products, as well as to transfer funds to their family and friends. In addition to this, money is occasionally transferred to field staff for special needs, such as for workshop or training-related expenses. The adoption of mobile money by ACDI/VOCA was inspired by UNICEF, and they eventually decided to partner with bKash based on their determination that bKash had a solid past track record, wide coverage, and customized service delivery. To facilitate the use of mobile money, ACDI/VOCA distributed SIM cards through their field offices to any laborers without one. Local bKash agents then helped laborers open their accounts, and SIM cards issued in laborers' names serve as a method of identification that enables project staff to easily track them and their work. The use of mobile money has enabled ACDI/VOCA to better manage the project's financial disbursements, making payments to the field more transparent, secure, and convenient. It has also served as a tool to ensure that transfer amounts, recipients, and timing are correct, eliminating ghost laborers and giving ACDI/VOCA virtual access from their main office in Dhaka to monitor payments to laborers within 24 hours. From a macroeconomic perspective, ACDI/VOCA believes that the initiative has improved the lifestyle of the laborers and significantly increased their financial literacy.