Digital financial services (DFS) can have a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment in agriculture and food systems, but understanding the best ways in which to engage women can be difficult. Two case studies focusing on activities undertaken by Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE) Africa and the Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) II project share lessons learned and best practices for promoting women’s economic empowerment through DFS. These case studies were developed to complement the Advancing Women’s Empowerment Program’s “Digital Finance and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Beyond Production Roles in Agriculture and Food Systems” report with practical examples of how to successfully integrate digital financial tools and services for women into agriculture and food systems programs.

The case studies utilize the customer journey framework developed under the Mercy Corps AgriFin project, which describes a user’s experience through four phases of engagement: awareness of a new product, onboarding and training on how to use the product, product use and experience, and advancement and support after the product has been adopted. Using findings, challenges and lessons learned from ADVANCE II and ACRE Africa, the case studies leverage the customer journey framework to identify a set of best practices to support female farmers.