Proximity Finance and ThitsaWorks Train Borrowers' Digital Financial Literacy

Yangon, 17 August 2022

2022 has been a busy year for the Loan Officers in Proximity Finance. On top of managing their daily operations, from January to April 2022, all the Loan Officers in the Proximity Finance enrolled in the Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) Training of Trainers (TOT) program conducted by ThitsaWorks. By May 2022, these Loan Officers have trained over 10,000 borrowers on how to use digital financial services and tools safely. Proximity Finance aims to train minimum 75% of its borrowers with basic digital financial literacy skills by the end of September 2022.

In partnership with ModusBox and ONOW, ThitsaWorks has been providing Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) training program for microfinance institutions’ staff and their existing borrowers as a part of the Ready Set Go Digital (RSG) Project. This project aims to enhance the DFL knowledge among microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their clients – mostly women-operated micro/small/medium enterprises, and help them safely adopt digital financial services. With the support of USAID's Digital Asia Accelerator initiative, the program started in December 2021 and will run until September 2022. As of August 2022, ThitsaWorks has conducted 72 training sessions and provided DFL training to 2,627 staff from 12 MFI partners.

Dr. Pyae Phyo Lwin, Chief Operating Officer of ThitsaWorks, commented “We are grateful for the enthusiasm and active cooperation of Proximity Finance. Digital knowledge is very crucial in the digital transformation journey. Without digital literacy, it is very risky for digital safety, not just for finance, but in our daily lives as well. In DFL training, we cover the awareness of digital security especially in using digital applications for financial transactions. We look forward to working with Proximity Finance in the future to bring benefits to the community.”

U Soe Htike Lwin, Head of Business Operations of Proximity Finance, said “Due to its simplicity, the DFL foundation is disregarded in our community; however, it is a must-have knowledge, particularly in this digital transformation era. Not only the financial literacy but also the digital literacy rate in Myanmar is unsatisfactory. With the DFL knowledge along with the TOT training, I believe our loan officers can also help to promote valuable knowledge in our society by improving digital safety and financial inclusion. Last but not least, we are delighted to partner with ThitsaWorks in disseminating DFL knowledge to our loan officers and clients.”

Throughout the TOT Program, ThitsaWorks collaborated with Proximity Finance Team closely to monitor the efficiency and relevance of the training program for its clients. ThitsaWorks Team is thankful for the enthusiasm and active cooperation of the Proximity Finance Team and looks forward to working with Proximity Finance in the future to help communities in Myanmar become more financially literate.

About Proximity Finance – Proximity Finance Microfinance Company Limited, Myanmar's first farmer-focused financial institution, was founded in 2010 by Proximity Designs. For small family farms all around Myanmar, Proximity Designs is one of the leading platforms for agricultural services. It offers a combination of farm technology, advice, and financial services and helps more than 190,000 smallholder farmers and their families through 27 branches in 9 of Myanmar's 14 states and regions. Visit Proximity Finance at https://proximitydesigns.org

About ThitsaWorks – Founded in 2016, ThitsaWorks provides financial technology solutions for Microfinance and non-bank financial institutions to run effective operations. ThitsaWorks helps financial institutions to digitize their operations and to manage risks, thereby attracting more customers and powering financial inclusion in the country. Visit ThitsaWorks at https://www.thitsaworks.com/

For more information about the Digital Financial Literacy Program, please contact info@thitsaworks.com.