Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship
In support of the Inclusive Innovation collaboration between the University of Cape Town
Graduate School of Business and the University of Toronto
Internship Outline 2016
Introduction
The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and the University of Toronto
are involved in an exciting collaboration to build a network of student leaders trained in
inclusive innovation to work together to address the challenges of low-income
communities, and how to promote innovative and workable solutions.
As part of this collaboration, we have a selection of students from the Munk School of
Global Affairs in Toronto coming out to South Africa this year to conduct a 12-16 week
internship with host organisations.
Overview of Internship Opportunity
Organisation: Cenfri
Cenfri is one of the leading independent think tanks in the global field of financial
inclusion. Based in Cape Town, Cenfri’s mission is to support financial inclusion and
financial sector development in all developing countries through facilitating better
regulation and market provision of financial services. This vision is achieved through
research, providing advice and developing capacity-building programmes for regulators,
donors, financial service providers and other parties operating in the low-income market.
Cenfri operates in developing countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
For more information visit www.cenfri.org
The establishment of a new centre: Insight2impact (i2i)
FinMark Trust (FMT) and The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) are
jointly establishing a new centre funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in
partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. The centre has secured funding for five
years to drive data-led decision making for more effective financial inclusion. One of the
objectives of the centre will be to increase the use and quality of client centric data,
research and methodologies by FSPs to inform business decisions in a way that would
lead to the design of a greater range of more relevant and impactful financial products
and services for financially underserved individuals. As such, the centre will serve as a
central convening point for client data and research in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will seek to
promote the welfare interest of clients within the decisions of FSPs and focus areas for
researchers. The centre will serve as a leading resource for practitioners wanting to be
more client centric in their choice of target market segments, their design of products
and the manner in which financial services are offered and distributed to clients.
For more information visit http://www.i2ifacility.org/ or http://cenfri.org/insight2impact
Making Access Possible: MAP
Making Access Possible (MAP) is a multi-country initiative to support financial inclusion
through a process of evidence-based analysis feeding into a financial inclusion roadmap
jointly implemented by a range of local stakeholders.
MAP was initiated by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and is
implemented in partnership with FinMark Trust and the Centre for Financial Regulation
and Inclusion (Cenfri). In each country, MAP brings together a broad range of
stakeholders from within government, the private sector and the donor community
around an evidence based diagnostic to develop a set of practical actions aimed at
extending financial inclusion tailored to that country.
Outline of Internship Project
Cenfri is looking for highly driven interns, with a passion for real world economic
development and high levels of curiosity for solving complex problems in development.
Our internships are flexible and can be structured around the specific requirements of
students. The internship would involve assisting on one of Cenfri’s various focus areas,
including:
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Assistance on implementing the activities of the i2i facility, including improving client data and
research reliability and relevance to improve financial services design to better meet client needs.
(See establishment of new centre below for more information).
Assistance on general Cenfri and MAP research projects, including support to research teams where
needed, administrative support, desktop-based research, data analysis, copy-editing, structuring of
information and data into a clear and usable format, contributing to project outcomes and findings
through critical analysis, team working sessions and report writing.
How does the completion of the internship assist the
organization?
Interns at Cenfri form a crucial part on research teams and work closely with all other
team members to achieve project outcomes. There is therefore significant opportunities
for interns to learn from experienced researchers, and to contribute towards reaching
project, programme and company level objectives.
What skills might the intern learn on the project?
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Improved research, analytical, writing and presentation skills
The importance of research and data analysis on informing regulation
Gain in depth experience in the field of financial inclusion across emerging markets
Capacity building skills in the financial sector
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What skills would the intern need to have, in order to undertake
the project?
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Strong interpersonal skills, creativity and ability to mix with other people, particularly in an emerging
market setting
Resilience and tolerance for ambiguity and change
Deep passion for inclusive innovation
High energy levels with a bias for action
Numerate and literate
Good analytical thinking ability and quantitative analytical skills
A strong interest in research-related activities
Innovative, conceptual problem solver
Dynamic, open minded and flexible
Good writing and presentation skills and proficiency in MS office applications
Stata would be an advantage
Duration of placement
The project is ideally 12-16 weeks in duration, across May 2nd –September 2nd 2016.
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