Digital Cash Transfers in Liberia: A case study from Save the Children’s Emergency Food Security Programme (2015-2016)

Unconditional cash transfer programmes are growing in popularity as a means of providing emergency aid, and with that, the humanitarian community is also looking to digitalize cash transfer mechanisms. This comes with many advantages: the process becomes more transparent, secure, and inclusive for beneficiary households. One of the vital pre-requisites for a successful digital cash transfer programme, is the existence of a viable mobile money ecosystem within the area where the aid will be distributed.

This report is a case study of Save the Children’s Emergency Food Assistance for Ebola Affected Families in Liberia Programme. Unfortunately, Liberia is not a favourable environment for mobile financial services, which caused several obstacles for Save the Children when seeking to digitalize cash disbursements. This report contains the key findings and future recommendations for similar programmes.