FinMark Trust

15/10/2026

Digital inclusion takes more than technology. It takes building trust and confidence.

In Hammanskraal, our Community Liaison Officer, Joseph Masilela, is helping residents and small businesses resolve digital payment challenges, from incorrect deductions to delayed transactions.

His work shows how practical, community-based support can build confidence in digital financial services and encourage their adoption.

Read Joseph’s story: https://finmark.org.za/Community_digitalisation/CLO_Hammanskraal.html

This forms part of FinMark Trust’s Community Digitalisation project under the SECO-supported Inclusive Payments Digitalisation Programme (IPDP).

15/10/2026

📢 Attention prospective bidders: GBL Evaluation Terms of Reference
An important update to the call for proposals for the evaluation of the Generating Better Livelihoods for Grant Recipients (GBL) Project.

A non-compulsory virtual briefing session will take place on 16 October 2026 via Microsoft Teams.

📩 Register here: b6f6328c-1124-4342-a3b6-789f0c8c1e26@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b6f6328c-1124-4342-a3b6-789f0c8c1e26@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f

Attendance is optional and will not affect bid eligibility.
Please share this opportunity with evaluation firms and professionals in your network.

📢 Call for Proposals | GBL Pilot Evaluation
We’re seeking an experienced evaluation firm or team to evaluate the Generating Better Livelihoods (GBL) for Grant Recipients Pilot Project.

We are looking for strong expertise in social protection, sustainable livelihoods and economic inclusion, combined with experience evaluating complex government programmes using mixed-methods approaches.

The findings will help inform how the GBL approach can be strengthened, institutionalised, and potentially scaled.

View the full Terms of Reference and submission requirements:
https://finmark.org.za/TOR/GBL_Evaluation_TOR.pdf

📅 Closing date: 29 October 2026

Know an evaluation firm or team with the right expertise? Please share this opportunity with your network.

08/10/2026

📢 Call for Proposals | GBL Pilot Evaluation
We’re seeking an experienced evaluation firm or team to evaluate the Generating Better Livelihoods (GBL) for Grant Recipients Pilot Project.

We are looking for strong expertise in social protection, sustainable livelihoods and economic inclusion, combined with experience evaluating complex government programmes using mixed-methods approaches.

The findings will help inform how the GBL approach can be strengthened, institutionalised, and potentially scaled.

View the full Terms of Reference and submission requirements:
https://finmark.org.za/TOR/GBL_Evaluation_TOR.pdf

📅 Closing date: 29 October 2026

Know an evaluation firm or team with the right expertise? Please share this opportunity with your network.

23/09/2026

Thank you to the participants who joined our digital tipping webinar yesterday.

If you missed it, we explored South Africa's tipping landscape, drawing on updated FinScope data and lessons from two digital tipping pilots.

One key insight was clear: Making digital tipping work is about more than the technology. It requires awareness, trust, a good user experience and collaboration across the ecosystem.

There is still more to understand – and more to address – to ensure service workers can keep receiving the tips they rely on as customers carry less cash.

📌 Catch up on the discussion and key insights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U05nYRxbb04

In this webinar, we explore South Africa’s evolving tipping landsca...

21/09/2026

Leaving no one behind in the digital economy
For many years, Bongani has worked as a car guard at a popular shopping centre in Johannesburg, relying largely on customers' generosity to earn a living. But as the way people pay has changed, so has his ability to receive tips.

"My customers would say they wanted to tip me, but never had change. The intention was there, but the money was not in the form it needed to be. Fewer people are carrying cash."

Bongani’s experience reflects a broader challenge facing many workers who depend on small, traditionally cash-based payments such as tips as part of their income. As consumers increasingly shift towards digital payments, the decline in cash use risks unintentionally excluding people whose livelihoods still depend on cash transactions.

It is not necessarily the willingness to tip that is disappearing. But there is a growing disconnect between how customers want to pay and how workers are able to receive those payments. The scale and significance of this challenge are substantial.

FinScope Consumer South Africa 2025 indicates that approximately 8.5 million adults receive tips. For many, these are no longer supplementary earnings – they have become essential to their daily needs, covering transport, school fees, groceries and rent. However, as fewer consumers carry cash, this critical source of income is increasingly at risk. Yet this situation need not remain the same. The same digital transformation creating the challenge also presents an opportunity to solve it.

Digital tipping solutions already exist and have been tested. What they have not done yet is reach scale. Our pilot in Gauteng has taught us a few lessons along the way: some of what worked and what didn't.

Tomorrow, we’re bringing the ecosystem together to share what we’ve learned.

Date: 22 September 2026
Time: 10h00-11h30 (SAST)
Register to join us for this webinar: f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f

21/09/2026

Tomorrow: Tips Project Webinar
Industry experts will share key findings, opportunities and challenges emerging from digital tipping initiatives.

Don't miss this important conversation on advancing financial inclusion through practical digital payment solutions.

📅 22 September 2026
🕙 10h00-11h30 SAST

Register here: f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f

18/09/2026

Across development programmes, we’re finding that communities are becoming more cautious about sharing personal information. Research fatigue, concerns about how data will be used, and repeated requests for information without visible benefit can all shape whether people are willing to participate – and what they are willing to share.

This affects monitoring and evaluation. Trust influences the quality of the evidence we collect and, ultimately, how well we understand whether our programmes are making a difference.

In our latest thought leadership piece, FinMark Trust’s Shirley Jeoffreys-Leach reflects on what this means for M&E practice and why we need more inclusive approaches to data collection.

🔎 Read When the Clipboard Becomes a Threat: Rethinking M&E in an Age of Community Distrust: https://finmark.org.za/knowledge-hub/publications/when-the-clipboard-becomes-a-threat-rethinking-m-e-in-an-age-of-community-distrust?entity=blog

What happens when communities no longer trust data collectors? This piece explores why M&E can struggle in contexts of distrust – and how building trust, using ethical data practices and creating community feedback loops can lead to better evidence.

17/09/2026

What does the evidence tell us about tipping in South Africa? At our upcoming webinar, we’ll look at tipping dynamics using updated FinScope data and share what we’re learning from two digital tipping pilots.

Join us to explore the evidence, the challenges and the lessons emerging from implementation.

👉Register here: f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f9f621df-8c65-4d96-9f8a-88c60c41ae4f@1325b736-267d-4ace-9034-e54e452db69f

16/09/2026

Meet Aunty Vee! 👋🏾
Vuyiswa Mzizi runs Aunty Vee’s Table Charm in Hammanskraal, selling kitchenware and household products from Table Charm, Tupperware and other brands.

Through Digital ke Power, FinMark Trust is working with small businesses in Hammanskraal and Thembisa to explore practical ways digital tools can help them reach more customers and run their businesses better.

Read Aunty Vee’s story and get a glimpse into her experience of digitalisation at the community level.

👉🏾https://finmark.org.za/knowledge-hub/publications/aunty-vee-s-table-charm?entity=blog

The project is being implemented with World Bank support under the Inclusive Payments Digitalisation Programme (IPDP), supported by SECO and SARB.

16/09/2026

📍 Consultancy opportunity | Lesotho Financial Access Points Mapping

FinMark Trust is seeking a service provider for Phase 2 of the Lesotho GIS Financial Access Points Mapping Project to update the 2017 baseline into a current, geo-referenced national database and generate actionable insights for decision-makers.

The work covers two areas:
🔹Part A: Data collection
Mapping and geo-tagging financial access points across Lesotho, including banks, MFIs, mobile money providers and merchants, and capturing information on services, cash-in/cash-out capabilities and digital payment acceptance.
🔹Part B: Geospatial analytics
Using the data to understand access and coverage, usage and liquidity, competition, market structure and opportunities for network optimisation and market development – supported by an interactive web-mapping facility.

Providers can bid for Part A, Part B, or both.

🔎Find out more about the opportunity and how to apply:https://finmark.org.za/TOR/Lesotho_GIS_Financial_Access_Points.pdf

📌Deadline for submissions extended to close of business on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.

Know someone with the right expertise? Please feel free to share this opportunity with them. 🤝