More Phones, More Transfers? A case study from Save the Children’s Emergency Food Security Program using Mobile Money in Bari, Nugaal, & Hiran Regions of Somalia

Save the Children’s Emergency Food Security and Livelihoods team responds to emergency food crises worldwide, and cash transfers are one of the essential approaches that can be used to help families meet their basic needs before, during, and after a crisis. In 2016-2017, with funding from USAID/FFP, Save the Children implemented a project that targeted 11,074 households (66,444 people) in the Bari, Nugaal, and Hiran regions of Somalia with monthly cash transfers for food assistance using mobile money. The purpose of the project is to increase the access to and availability of diversified and nutritious food for households in the region.

With this study, Save the Children sought to understand to what extent the project influenced the use of Mobile Money among the cash recipients, key barriers and enabling factors in influencing uptake and use of Mobile Money services, and the potential to leverage current projects to expand the use of the E-Wallet and other financial services. The study purposively looks at some of the most remote and rural areas of the project to take an intention look at the access and attitudes of these populations about Mobile Money.