In the landscape of rural development, the transition from subsistence to sustainability is often cited as a goal; however, it is rarely measured with the precision of a fintech operation. Reflecting on the insights shared during the inaugural Financial Inclusion for Last Mile Actors (FILMA) Learning Event at the Accra Marriott Hotel, which hosted over 230 stakeholders, it is clear that the “last mile” is no longer the end of the road, but rather the starting point for systemic economic transformation.
Program Context: A Multi-Partner Vision for Rural Ghana
Implemented by Temple Investments in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, FILMA is a four-year, multi-partner initiative (2024–2028) designed to empower 100,000 young Ghanaians. The program specifically targets young women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) by providing access to affordable credit, inclusive financial services, and market opportunities.
Central to this mission is the Last Mile Actor (LMA), defined as the essential yet often overlooked players at the end of the agricultural value chain. This demographic primarily comprises young women, youth, and PWDs serving as smallholder farmers, processors, and traders. These actors have historically been excluded from formal financial systems due to systemic barriers: a lack of traditional collateral, limited financial footprints, and the high perceived risk of rural enterprises.
The program operates with a precise mandate: ensuring that 70% of LMAs are women and 5% are persons with disabilities, focusing its efforts across 18 districts in the Volta, Oti, Bono East, and Northern Regions. To achieve this scale, the program is driven by a strategic consortium led by Temple Investments, providing strategic leadership and managing the Catalytic Facility for Inclusive Finance (CFIF). This ecosystem is fortified by the specialized expertise of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), AV Ventures, SEND Ghana, and Enterprise Life, which provides tailored insurance solutions to de-risk the financial landscape for rural actors.
More than just an intervention, FILMA serves as a critical test case for a high-impact sustainability model. It marks a definitive departure from traditional grant-based modules, aiming instead to transform agricultural and agri-adjacent value chains, including production and the introduction of emerging technology, into self-sustaining hubs of economic resilience.
Solid Evidence: Operational Milestones and Alternative Livelihoods
Two years into the four-year program, FILMA’s data reflects deep structural changes. The program has enrolled 77,868 LMAs; representing 78% of the total life-of-project target, and successfully transitioned 44,476 youth into dignified and fulfilling work, with young women making up 90% (40,028) of this total. Additionally, 2,151 persons with disabilities are actively participating in the program’s pathways.
The average monthly income of an LMA has more than doubled, rising from a baseline of GH¢1,334 to GH¢2,793, while the portion of LMAs able to self-secure a financial product has jumped from 3% to 38%. Crucially, the program is de-risking rural life by introducing microinsurance and promoting diversified, non-traditional income streams to hedge against agricultural volatility. To date, this includes specialized training and equipment distribution for 1,099 individuals in beekeeping, 500 in mushroom production, and 2,661 in dry-season vegetable production.
Voices from the Last Mile: The LMA Youth Panel
A powerful session at the forum brought five last-mile actors to the stage to share their real-world transformations. Sakina, a young participant, described how saving was once a distant dream, as she struggled to manage the small allowances provided by her parents. Following the financial literacy and saving guides provided by the program, she began consistently saving 30% of her funds, turning a dream into an active, empowering daily practice.
Gifty, a university graduate, shared how she turned to mushroom farming in the Oti Region due to the scarcity of formal employment. Although she managed to build a basic farming structure using her national service allowance, she lacked the capital to purchase compost and spawn. Initially dismissing Voluntary Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) as groups meant only for older community members, Gifty joined the program, mobilized other young people, and formed a VSLA. The collective savings from this group provided the critical capital needed to purchase compost and launch her commercial operations, highlighting how local, structured savings can bypass traditional borrowing barriers.
The final stakeholder panel confronted the harsh economic realities facing rural and local producers. Caleb Edwards, Managing Director of WAMI AGRO, offered a sobering view on the impact of import liberalization, pointing out that local producers struggle to compete with importers backed by cheaper foreign capital, subsidies, and tax exemptions. He shared that local companies have faced six-figure impairments due to these policies, forcing a local rice farm to let go of 18 workers, and emphasized that credit access will fail without corresponding market protection and hedging strategies.
Addressing lending risks, panel representatives from Absa and Maroon Capital discussed the necessity of digital lending to offset last-mile delivery costs, but warned of a culture of default that led to a bank taking a 32 million GHS impairment. They called for a unified shift in borrower mindset toward “contractual faithfulness” and robust data literacy.
These provocations led to critical institutional commitments. The Central Bank representative pledged to move beyond simple gender‑balance metrics to develop and launch an active, value-chain-wide inclusive policy specifically for women by mid-2027. The Ministry of Finance committed to crafting highly actionable, solution-oriented policies within the upcoming National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS). Concurrently, disability advocates and WAMI Agro announced a collaborative framework with international disability facilitators to train financial institutions on accessible services, ensuring local PWD structures are intentionally integrated into future outreach.
The Women Behind the Work: From Survival to Destiny
“For us at Temple, these women are not a video. They are the reason we are here. They are not characters in a story; they are the story,” noted Cecilia Hesse, Managing Director of Temple Investments, during her opening address. Her words underscored a fundamental shift in how development is measured: moving away from distant spreadsheets toward the lived realities of the women who are the bedrock of the nation.
She also shared a proverb that captures the resilience of the program’s target demographic: “Even if the housefly has nothing, it rubs its hands together in anticipation.” This spirit of preparation and work is what FILMA seeks to harness. By recognizing the brilliance and drive of these women, the program ensures they no longer have to struggle just to survive, but are instead empowered to build a lasting destiny for their families and communities.
