Zambia Financial Diaries

In 2014, Microfinance Opportunities was commissioned by Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) to conduct the Zambia Financial Diaries, a yearlong study to examine how low-income individuals in Zambia managed their cash flow and used financial tools—savings, transfers, loans, and insurance. A team of field workers interviewed 355 respondents on a weekly basis, collecting data on all goods or services that they bought, sold, or traded; the financial tools that they used; and whether any important events occurred in their lives that week. In addition, MFO used cross-sectional surveys and in-depth interviews to understand respondents’ attitudes toward asset building, risk management, and financial service providers.