What’s on at Amarante?
Welcome to Amarante’s first newsletter!
We spend our days nudging digital ecosystems and financial inclusion across the world and somehow still find room to dream bigger. Consider this your sneak peek into the chaos, the impact, and the joy. Buckle up, we hope you’re thoroughly entertained along the way.
Our Leaders’ Lens
Dear colleagues, partners, and friends,
Welcome to Amarante’s first newsletter. As we share snapshots of our work and the ecosystems we engage with, we do so against a backdrop of significant global movement — geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, and growing climate pressures that continue to shape the development and impact sector. In this context, our journey has been one of reaffirmation: of our purpose, our partnerships, and the way we continue to show up where it matters most.
Throughout this period, we have remained deeply committed to supporting MSMEs, youth, women, and last-mile communities with digital tools; strengthening agricultural ecosystems from farmers to traders; and working closely with banks, fintechs, payment providers, microfinance institutions, postal organisations, among others, to enable frictionless access to financial products and services. This work spans geographies from Mexico in the West to Indonesia in the East, across a myriad of countries – Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Afghanistan, India, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, France, Luxembourg, the UK, and beyond. Across these engagements, our focus on phygital and digital infrastructure continues to deepen, anchored in scalable public service platforms as countries advance their Digital Public Infrastructure agendas.
Our work continually reminds us that transformation is not only about technology; it is about trust, collaboration, and the ability to adapt to diverse contexts. In a global environment marked by uncertainty and constrained development financing, we are strengthening partnerships across both public and private sectors — including social enterprises, impact funds, technical assistance providers, NGOs, and development organizations — while ensuring our work remains disciplined, scalable, and inclusive.
Looking ahead, our priority is to expand access for urban and rural populations alike, reinforce financial and operational rigor across projects, and continue advancing inclusion across borders without compromise.
We are proud of the work underway, the trust built with partners, and the learning that continues to shape our path forward. Together, we remain committed to building resilient teams, mobilizing expertise, and ensuring that digital innovation continues to serve people — with both warmth and rigor. We hope you enjoy your read ahead.
– Co-founders : Sahana & Pascal
Regional Rundown: Wins Across the Map
Across regions, sectors, and themes, our work continues to stretch into new geographies, new complex problems, and new possibilities. Consider this your guided map through innovation, positive impact and a few pleasant surprises.
Anglophone Region
From supporting smallholder farmers in Malawi to accompanying microfinance institutions in Afghanistan, advancing overall postal transformation, and contributing to evidence-based Digital Public Infrastructure research in Ethiopia, our Anglophone team continues to work across value chains and institutions. With bold steps into DPI research, impact investing, and new development ecosystems, the journey has been one of testing, learning, and levelling up amid a dynamic external context.
Let’s traverse our way into some of our spotlights for region Anglophone:
Transforming Financial Inclusion in Malawi
In partnership with the GCA Foundation and MicroLoan Foundation under the SNNUP program, Amarante strengthened Microloan’s agri finance product offering tailored to their clients’ needs. Our experts redesigned agri-loan products, improved risk frameworks, re-engineered processes, and facilitated mobile money integrations which resulted in higher adoption and stronger portfolio performance. The 18 month project closed with a successful handover — setting a benchmark for scalable, inclusive agri-finance solutions.[Read Here]
Postal Sector Collaborations & Gender Inclusion
In collaboration with UPU, we launched the Gender Fintech Study spotlighting how postal ecosystems, when equipped with the right digital rails, can accelerate women’s economic participation and financial resilience. The study also re-iterates the 700B global annual revenue opportunity if women were offered financial products and services tailored to their needs. (Read here )
Afghanistan: Building Foundations for Inclusive Agent Networks
In Afghanistan, Amarante has worked across digital finance strategy, mobile money platforms, and inclusive delivery models. Our engagements span technical and strategic due diligence for mobile wallets, the design of scalable agent networks, and capacity building for agricultural finance and payments ecosystems. Together, these efforts support stronger digital infrastructure, and informal ecosystem actors, blending international best practices with deep local ownership through stakeholder engagement, and institutional capacity strengthening.
Francophone Region
Our Francophone team continues to push deeper into digital transformation- from fintech ecosystem development in Mali to cybersecurity and strategic implementation across national institutions in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Niger. At the same time, we have significantly diversified our portfolio through closer partnerships with private-sector players, including Pan-African banks operating across West and Central Africa. This growing mix of public and private engagements now spans innovation, regulation, agritech, and emerging digital ecosystems, building strong and durable momentum across the region.
Let’s whisk our way into some of our highlights for region Francophone:
Agrikalpay further Expands in Benin
Pascal Simon, Gilles Kounou (CEO OpenSI), and the GCA Foundation visited pineapple clusters in Benin to understand how smallholders are applying Agrikalpay in real production cycles. The findings from this mission are already guiding platform evolution, product tweaks, and cross-market expansion pathways.
Agrikalpay also went global, graduating from the third cohort of the Global Accelerator Program in Munich(read here), pitched the solution and engaged with global innovators and insurance leaders in discussions on regulation, insurance distribution, and technology transitions.
Côte d’Ivoire Field Insights
Our work in cocoa and agroforestry took us deep into western and eastern regions. Focus groups with cooperatives, farmers, banks, and mobile money operators revealed key needs around agricultural financing and mobile banking services, shaping our future approach for farmer-centric financial inclusion.
Strengthening Côte d’Ivoire’s Tilapia Value Chain
Amarante reinforced its footprint in Côte d’Ivoire’s aquaculture sector through an extended partnership under the FISH4ACP programme. We are supporting financial institutions and cooperatives to unlock financing for fish farmers and traders, with a targeted push on digital solutions, nano-credit, and financial literacy. The transition from diagnostic and pilot work to implementation and scale marks a decisive step in advancing inclusive growth across the tilapia value chain. [Read more]
Elevating Digital Finance Capabilities in Niger
For the Niger Smart Village Programme (PVI Niger), Amarante designed and delivered an intensive ten-day immersion learning experience hosted in Senegal, enabling participants to engage directly with a mature digital financial services ecosystem. The programme combined targeted training on mobile money, agent banking, and digital finance with field visits to key ecosystem players and participation in the “Salon de la Monétique” held in Senegal. By grounding learning in real operational contexts, the immersion strengthened practical understanding of instant payment systems at a pivotal moment, as the BCEAO’s PI-SPI platform has begun to reshape the regional payments landscape. [Read more]
LAC Region (Latin America & the Caribbean)
Our LAC team has been busy with taking bold strides across microinsurance, banking, and credit risk systems; designing dashboards, strengthening internal capacities, and implementing key banking initiatives. We also leveraged AI-powered tools and process automation to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen analytics, and support smarter decision-making for our clients. From improving decision-making for stakeholders to shaping integrated financial products, the region proved that smart systems drive real impact. And the journey ahead is even more exciting.
Let’s dive into some of our recent LAC spotlights :
IT Strategy for LAC region – For a multinational organization
Working fully remotely, our team developed a strategic IT roadmap that upgrades institutional capabilities, operational models, and digital governance. Using agile and design-thinking approaches, we crafted a blueprint aligned with Plan’s regional and global goals, proving that meaningful impact transcends borders.
Smarter Microinsurance: Operational Dashboard for SERINSA
The Amarante team partnered with SERINSA to build a real-time dashboard that tracks key performance indicators for microinsurance programs. By centralizing scattered data, we’re helping both SERINSA and affiliated MFIs make faster, smarter decisions, turning insights into action and impact.
Amarante on the Move: The Rooms We Walked Into
Here’s the fun part- a wrap of the spaces our team continues to engage in, the insights we gather, the dialogue we contribute to and the sparks of change we carry forward.
From panels to workshops, happy hours to global conferences, we learn, contribute, and connect wherever we go. Each event drops something new into our bags of knowledge, each conversation adds a new layer to our creative mind, and every connection reminds us why we do what we do: Driving digital and financial inclusion, digital transformation, and meaningful change across the globe.
DPI Research Grant – A win close to our hearts
As part of the first cohort launched this year, the prestigious Global DPI DPI Insights Community selected and awarded a DPI Insights research grant to Amarante.Ours was one of six applications chosen from 300+ submissions across 67 countries. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the team attended panel discussions on “Evidence and Forecast: Shaping the Future of DPI Safeguards” and presented our research topic, while gaining global perspectives on digital public infrastructure. [ Read here]
IFC Digital Finance Workshop — Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR)
Antonia Bassene, our Regional Manager for Francophone countries, led a pivotal session on national digital strategy, supporting CAR’s inclusive DFS and digital public services journey. The workshop, organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) brought together public and private stakeholders, explored sector gaps, and highlighted innovations like interoperability via GIMACPAY.[Read here]
Inclusive Finance 2025 — Luxembourg
We celebrated the Microfinance Award for Inclusive Insurance at the Inclusive Finance 2025 conference held in Luxembourg. Sahana Arun Kumar, partner at Amarante, contributed to the dialogue on agriculture, climate resilience, and inclusive insurance models. The event emphasized how funding and programmatic efforts needed not only public-private partnerships but also adequate technical assistance and market building which are core services. When this partnership and ecosystem mix is achieved well, it enables client-centric digital solutions and results in strengthening financial resilience in emerging markets. [ watch the session here]
DPI Global Summit 2025, Cape Town, South Africa
Sahana represented Amarante among policymakers and digital architects from various countries, discussing interoperable rails, digital identity, and responsible GenAI. The summit showcased how secure, scalable, and people-centric digital public infrastructures are shaping the future with more and more countries progressively joining the 50 in 5 campaign for DPI implementations across the globe .[ Read here]
FIW Nairobi Happy Hours 2025, Kenya
As part of Financial Inclusion Week, members of the Amarante team—including Sahana, Antonia, and colleagues—joined the FIW Nairobi Happy Hours, an informal networking space that brought together practitioners, funders, policymakers, and ecosystem players from across regions. Designed for connection over conversation, the evening created room to exchange ideas, build new relationships, and reflect on how inclusive and impact finance is evolving across Africa and beyond.[Read here]
Financial Inclusion Week 2025 (online)
Amarante joined FIW 2025 as a regional partner for Africa, alongside CFI, Citi Foundation, Jumo, and Busara [here]. Our contributions included a live session with EthioPost on postal-led digital ecosystems {catch the recording here} and an on-demand session with MicroLoan Foundation on designing credit for farmers in Malawi [catch the recording here] —underscoring our focus on practical, collaborative learning in inclusive finance.
SAM 2025 — Nairobi, Kenya
Sahana led a session on Impact Measurement for LHOFT’s (Luxembourg House of Financial Technology) btw cohort of impact tech start ups, while Antonia contributed to dynamic panels on digital transformation and ecosystem development—together helping shape the future of inclusive finance across Africa. [See here]
Universal Postal Union (UPU) 28th Congress – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Taking part in the UPU Dubai Congress, alongside the UPU 192 member post organisations from their respective 192 countries, was a lovely moment for us. Together with our Postal Sector Thought Leader, John Samuel, we explored innovations like AI-powered postal agents, global addressing systems, and cross-border frameworks, underscoring the role of postal networks as hubs for inclusive growth and service delivery. [Read here]
Global SME Finance Forum 2025 — Johannesburg, South Africa
Discussions emphasized digital tools, regulatory safeguards, and inclusive financing to strengthen SME resilience across emerging markets. [Read here]
Mojaloop Conference 2025, Nairobi, Kenya
Panels highlighted cross-ministerial collaboration, instant payment governance, and inclusive infrastructure planning, reflecting how national coordination drives financial system innovation. [Read here]
Global Accelerator Program – Munich, Germany
Our Director, Pascal Simon participated in the prestigious Global Accelerator Program in Munich, where he presented Agrikalpay. The platform was introduced to an audience of global innovators and insurance leaders, sparking meaningful conversations around technology, inclusion, and scale. The program offered a rich agenda of forward-looking discussions, ranging from navigating European regulatory frameworks to rethinking insurance distribution for underserved populations. As proud graduates of the third cohort of the Global Accelerator Program powered by InsurTech Israel and InsurTech Hub Munich, we return inspired, energised, and with renewed confidence that inclusive digital finance is not just a niche, but the future.
Climate Resilience + Agritech Innovation
Webinars with MicroSave Consulting and Portail FinDev explored farmer resilience solutions—from insurance tech to Agrikalpay—in West Africa, reinforcing our role in agritech innovation and financial inclusion.
Amarantians: Looking Back, Moving Forward
We’re thrilled to welcome three incredible new members to our tribe in 2025 — Natasha Uderani, Waly Diouf Diédho, and Adya Gupta(left to right). Fearless, energetic, and bringing their own unique spark, they’ve already added fresh perspectives and vitality to the team. Adya and Natasha join us from India and Pakistan, while Waly comes from Senegal to strengthen our Francophone operations. Together, they reflect exactly what Amarante stands for: a thoughtful mix of cultures, ideas, and expertise that makes our work richer and our team stronger as we adapt to our clients’ realities and remain unrelentlessly client centric.
As we dive into new projects, research, and partnerships, their presence adds a confident edge — the kind that says, “Yep, the squad just levelled up.”
Lets spill some Fun Facts about our team
- Someone on the team visited 4 countries in 6 weeks
- Our group space now has more emoji reactions than messages
- Amarante coffee consumption reached a new monthly record.
- The number of “Can everyone see my screen?” moments hit an all-time high last month, and no, we still can’t.
In Motion: What We’re Building, Together
What defines our work today isn’t a single moment in time but a steady rhythm of movement. Across shifting markets, evolving priorities, and increasingly complex development landscapes, Amarante has stayed anchored in one thing: building what matters. Our journey is shaped less by neat milestones and more by deliberate choices—to remain grounded, to stay close to real-world systems, and to design solutions that respond to urgency without losing sight of purpose. This is not about standing still; it’s about moving with intent.
That intent has taken form across a diverse and expanding body of work. From strengthening financial inclusion systems and supporting smallholder farmers to advancing postal transformation, agri-linked digital tools, and inclusive finance models, our projects have lived where policy meets practice. We’ve tested ideas in the field, refined them alongside partners, and allowed context to shape outcomes. Solutions like Agrikalpay reflect this approach—quietly effective, designed for resilience, and rooted in the realities of the people they serve.
As our work has grown, so has its scope. We’ve partnered with women-led enterprises, stepped deeper into aquaculture and fisheries value chains, supported youth-driven agricultural initiatives, and engaged with financial institutions, fintechs, and public actors navigating digital transformation. Each engagement has stretched our thinking. Each new sector has sharpened our perspective. What we build today carries the imprint of listening closely, adapting honestly, and learning continuously.
Looking ahead, we’re focused on building further: scaling what works, deepening partnerships, and expanding into new sectors and collaborations. The foundations are strong, but the work is far from finished. As digital public infrastructure, climate realities, and inclusion agendas continue to evolve, so will we; committed to innovation that is practical, partnerships that are meaningful, and impact that endures. This is the work we are growing into, and the direction we are deliberately moving toward.
Charting the Next Arc of Our Journey
We collectively aim to:
- Scale our technologies, especially agri-linked digital tools.
- Embed AI within human-led processes to activate its full strategic and operational potential.
- Better anchor digital transformation in our focus sectors and deepen our expertise.
- Welcome new clients and collaborations.
Our ethos stays the same: Build with purpose. Work with heart. Deliver with excellence.
Looking back we saw momentum take shape amidst rapid and unpredictable change across development and emerging markets.
Looking ahead is where Amarante is ready to turn that momentum into a movement.
If something here resonated, we’d love to continue the conversation with you. Please feel free to connect with us.
