Unlimited Scheme

A card will be created to facilitate contributions and withdrawals by informal workers.  a card that contains a person’s information and other features that can help one put money on the card. The card will contain bio-metric data that can be used for verification. The system will create a synergy between all financial institutions and services. That means a customer can go to any bank, financial institution or accredited agent to withdraw money whether the person has an account there or not.  This will help so that when one bank collapses it will not affect customers’ funds or there will not be the need for customer migration during such incident.The card will have brailed information for the use of persons with visual disability.

Traceable codes will be given to non-card owners when they will want to access the account of their relatives either by withdrawing or contributing towards the account.

The problem I am trying to solve is how informal sector workers in West Africa can easily participate in social protection programmes. This problem affects a large number of people which include the community in which I live and majority of people in Ghana. According to the world bank informal sector workers comprise an average of 60% of total non-agricultural employment in the region reaching as high as 90% in some countries. My solution is to help create a system where informal sector workers can contribute or withdraw money by using a bio-metric system . This system can help create an insurance schemes and other packages for the informal sector workers in times of need and they can access their funds with or without internet access.

The target population are traders, farmers, some teachers in private schools, private electricians and other persons whose income does not pass through the controller and accountant general's department. These are people who receive their income and some are not deducted for social protection or insurance purposes. I am trying to help the target group have a certain level of a secured insurance either during retirement or any other crisis. I have realized that they end up depending on other people when they are not in active employment or when any disaster happens it affects their lives and work and they find it difficult to bounce back since they do not have any insurance scheme to cater for them. I know a story of a person who wished she had the opportunity to have access to pension scheme. The solution will help informal sector workers access funds at the appropriate time either during pension, disaster or any other situation that deems fit for the release of funds. It will also help them contribute towards the scheme in their convenience. It is an inclusive solution such that persons with disability will not have a challenge in participating especially persons with visual disability.

My solution aligns to the problem and it addresses all the three dimensions of the challenge in the sense that only accredited banks, financial institutions and agents will be involved in the system to ensure confidence and this addresses dimension one which talks about encouraging financial savings, transparency and accountability. Also regardless of literacy and numeracy levels, members can easily participate since finger prints and facial recognition can be  used to access one's account. Members can send or receive money with or no internet access. The card has a unique code that can be used in all the sub-region.

My solution is innovative in the sense that it introduces new and dynamic way of handling the issue of social protection for informal sector workers. My solution has no competitors. However, I have noted that some financial institutions have pension scheme for some informal sector workers. What they do is quite different from my idea in the sense that they send their workers to go to the customers and collect their contributions and some of their workers end up running away with the money. Some of these financial institutions end up being defunct in my country since the government keep on embarking on non performing banks and financial institutions. This makes it difficult for some customers to retrieve their money. My idea will create a synergy between all financial institutions and services in a way that a bearer contributes or withdraws money from any accredited agent whether the person opened the account there or not. This will help so that when an institution collapses there will be no need for customer migration and they can still access their funds from other institutions.

Create a card that contains a person’s information and other features that can help one put money on the card. The card will contain biometric data that can be used for verification. This system will create a synergy between all financial institutions and services in a way that a bearer can withdraw money from or save with any available centre or institution.

At the grass root level where there are no banks or financial institutions, accredited agents will serve the people. Fingerprints or photos can be used to identify the bearers of the card. A person who misplaces his or her card can use fingerprint or facial recognition to access the account. Traceable codes will be given to bearers to be given to second party members when they will want to access the account of their family members either by withdrawing or contributing towards the account. There will be a central system so all involving banks, financial institutions and accredited agents must be registered onto the system. The accounts will be linked to mobile money platforms so that customers who have mobile phones and do not want to go to an accredited agent or an institution can conveniently contribute towards the account on their mobile phones anywhere whether smartphones or not smartphones and one does not need any internet to be able to do that. The card will have a unique code that can be used anywhere in the sub region.

My solution will have an impact on the problem in the sense that it will offer a form of social protection programme for informal sector workers. I expect my solution to help informal sector workers to access funds in any available accredited financial institution. This is because no matter the type of bank, once it is an accredited institution a customer can deal with them. Also, since customers will deal with only accredited institutions it will boost the confidence in encouraging financial savings. Again, I expect my solution to help customers have a social insurance scheme which will cater for them when they retire from active work or during disaster or any other crisis. In addition, my solution will reduce the menace of financial theft by institution employers since the funds can be managed from a central system. Also, customers will receive instant messages on their phones to alert them on any payment or withdrawal from the account. Furthermore, my solution will help trace non account holders who make transactions in the system. All these are to help provide a credible and secure social  protection programme for informal sector workers. The solution will encourage the informal sector workers not to spend on frivolous things since they can use the same money to contribute towards the social protection programme. It will also help them plan their future since there will be availability of funds when they retire from active work. The project is also an all inclusive since the needs the needs of persons with disability will be catered for especially persons with visual disability.

The solution can be incorporated into social protection and public delivery systems at the regional level. This will happen in the sense that it provides a platform for informal sector workers to participate in a regulated social insurance scheme. Most times beneficiaries of social protection programmes do not have the assurance of receiving their benefits either in time or at all since they are not really involved in the process through which they will get their benefits, they solely depend on their benefactors. However, unlimited scheme as I have termed it is the solution I have proposed to help informal sector workers participate by contributing towards their funds and receiving payment as and when it is due. This process will help cover a large scale of people since they will be conscious of the fact that at the end of the period they will receive their payments because their payments are as a result of the accumulation of their conntributions.

My solution is user friendly to be incorporated into a social protection programme and delivery systems in west Africa. This will be done in a way that it will be easy to participate and it will not cause harm to participants and not even animals. Participants only need to register with an accredited agent or institution and he or she will be given a card for transactions. Whenever the card gets missing the user can access the account by using fingerprints or the facial recognition features. In order to safeguard the account of participants, traceable  codes will be given them to be given to people they want to access their account other than themselves. This will help the second party to be traced whenever transactions are made. Also, the card can be used across borders and so participants can still access their funds when they are in other countries in the sub region apart from their host country.

The solution does not need internet access before one can access his or her account. Once a person can prove that he or she is the holder of the account he or she will be able to access the account. Even though the system will be linked to mobile money platforms so that a person can send or receive money on the mobile phone. This does not require only smartphones and neither does the person need internet access. The system does not need high literacy and numeracy levels since all the person need is the ability to prove that he or she is an account owner or has a traceable code (which is for second party users) and he or she will be served.

The project is still at the idea level but when it is in operation it will serve almost all the informal sector workers in Ghana which will be about 70% of the population and to talk of it serving people in other countries. In five years time the project will be in all of West Africa.

In the next year if my solution is selected as a finalist, we would have done a baseline assessment. This will be done by talking to informal sector workers and other stakeholders about their views concerning the project and if they have any input. If the project starts, within the next five years we would have involved several financial institutions across the sub region who will offer services to informal sector workers and based on the features of the project members of the region can make transactions anywhere with no border issues.

Currently the project is at the idea stage so we can not foretell any barrier, however, we will need financial, technical, legal, cultural or market factors and expertise and so if we do not get these factors then they will become barriers.

As I mentioned earlier, the project is at the idea stage but in case we encounter some of the barriers listed like financial, cultural, legal, technical I will find a way to solve them by consulting the other stake holders to help overcome those barriers in case I am not able to do it alone.

Please currently it is my idea. Later, I will look for the right people to come on board.

I am a social worker so I care about people's well-being and how they can get a sustainable social protection programme. My solution is still at the idea stage yet I am determined to get people from the various fields of expertise to join my team when the idea is selected.

Please I do not partner with any organization yet.

I currently do not have a business model and I will develop one when my idea is selected.

For now I will consider sustained donations and grants and raising investment capital

Please I have not raised funds for my solution it is still at the idea stage.

Please I seek to raise funds for my solution either through grants or investments but I can not tell the exact amount since my solution is still at the idea stage.

I do not have estimated expenses for 2020 since my  solution is still at the idea stage and I am hoping that it will be selected as part of the finalists.

I stated that I have not encountered any barrier yet since I have not started working on it and it is still at the idea stage. Winning the Mission Billion Challenge will help me position my idea well to start working on it. It will also broaden my knowledge on how to operate and I hope to get some technical assistance so it will solve the technical barrier. Winning the challenge will give me the platform to meet certain top people in my country and so it will also help me get access to some influential people so it will also break the barrier of expertise.

Since my solution is at the idea level I would like to partner with several institutions to get the necessary help to start and continue with my project. Therefore I will need partners in the area of advisory, legal and regulation, marketing, technological expertise, funding and any other field that matter to my project.

Please I do not have specific name in mind.