L-IFT

💡Money Lending: Loan Sharks or Friendly Fish? In week seventy-six of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen shares another fascinating anecdote from the Colombia Magdalena Diaries. What started as a routine look into household spending turned into an unexpected discovery of hidden financial networks within the community. This story reveals unique income streams and shows how patience in research can unveil what’s often unseen. Curious to hear the full story? Watch the video for an eye-opening insight! 👉 https://lnkd.in/dcZFTM2f #StartupDiaries #Anecdotes #MoneyLending #FinancialDiaries #ColombiaMagdalenaDiaries #CommunityFinance #HiddenEconomy

📊 "Data That Speaks!" 🎯 In this video, Anaëlle Petre, a PhD researcher at the University of Agder, highlights how clear, insightful, and detailed the data she used from L-IFT was—"a data you have the full information about" as she puts it.

In week seventy-five of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen shares an interesting anecdote from our previous diaries work from Colombia, where a simple purchase became a unique strategy for savings and financial security. What might look like a typical transaction turned out to be much more when viewed through the lens of creative money management. Check out the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dsaquVEz #StartupDiaries #MoneyManagement #PersonalFinance #FinancialInclusion #CreativeFinance #Savings #Anecdotes #DiariesApproach

In week seventy-four of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about the discussions for the past two weeks, that have been held on agents, or last-mile delivery of services, particularly in rural areas. Agents sell various services, such as airtime, solar systems, agricultural inputs, and working as bank-agents. In Ethiopia, a new telecom firm needs to build an agent network of 500,000 agents. L-IFT's approach focuses on three stages: adopting FINBIT, then the best ones get offered a vocational training course in which they teach 20 others to adopt FINBIT and coach them how to do their digital bookkeeping, and finally receiving company-designed agent training on specific products and services. Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/dZ6HaP7r #StartupDiaries #LIFT #FINBIT #AgentNetworks

In week seventy-three of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about several interaction L-IFT had with financial service providers like microfinance, SACCOs, and banks that are increasingly recognizing the need for clients with comprehensive records and proper bookkeeping. However, most micro-businesses and small businesses lack accurate record keeping and are reluctant to share data due to worries that neighbors or others get jealous or may come for a loan. Now lenders are keen on incorporating FINBIT into their systems. Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/dBGvkGuh #StartupDiaries #LIFT #Microfinance #RecordKeeping #FINBIT

In week seventy-two of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about last weeks highlight which was about collaboration with European universities to introduce the diaries methodology into the curriculum for Master's and PhD students. While students commonly learn about RCTs, many mention that RCTs have their shortcomings. The diaries method is being promoted as a complementary or alternative approach to an RCT, particularly for studying complex and dynamic topics. A meeting will be held at the end of September, and universities interested in adopting this methodology are encouraged to get involved. Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/dSTsZNtK #StartupDiaries #DiariesMethodology #AcademicCollaboration #DiariesMovement

Have you heard of the small firm diaries? It's a global research initiative covering the financial lives of small firms in Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia, Nigeria and Uganda. Timothy Ogden will be at #KITInstitute on Wednesday, along with Anne Marie Van Swinderen to talk about this interesting research and what it means for organizations supporting small firms. Please join us in person on Wednesday if you are in Amsterdam. You must register at the link below. https://lnkd.in/effAB3he KIT Institute

In week seventy-one of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about a discussion with six European universities who are interested in using longitudinal data like diaries data sets, agreeing with L-IFT that students and PhD candidates should be exposed to different methodologies. The ILO has communicated a research agenda with five themes, which coincide with L-IFT's data on diaries. The goal is to explore all data and make diaries a mainstream methodology for all students. If you're at a university or interested in this initiative, please be in touch! Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/d5uPjZGx #StartUpDiaries #LIFT #ResearchCollaboration #LongitudinalData #Methodology #ResearchImpact

In week seventy of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about an important insight she had regarding why many start-ups fail. Over half of new businesses don’t survive past four years and financial stability plays a crucial role in their survival. Start-ups often take longer than expected to break even, and having a financial buffer allows founders to invest in their ventures without immediate pressure. This highlights the importance of both financial planning and a bit of luck in entrepreneurship. It’s a significant loss when talented individuals and their innovative ideas don’t succeed due to financial strain. Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/du_jGT_c #StartUpDiaries #StartUps #FinancialBuffer #LuckInBusiness

In week sixty-nine of our Startup Diaries Interview, Anne Marie Van Swinderen talks about L-IFT having discussions about staff turnover in Corporate Sustainability reporting. Depending on the sector, many producers who employ people face high staff turnover, particularly in sectors like garment factories and the flower industry. The high turnover comes with significant costs for companies in terms of recruitment and training expenses. Surprisingly, these sectors offer competitive salaries, so it's not yet identified why staff leaves. This aspect is something that will be further explored in the upcoming months. Watch the short message here: https://lnkd.in/dBDDEaKk #StartUpDiaries #LIFT #CorporateSustainabilityReporting #StaffTurnover