DFS Champions Program
The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Champions Program
The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Champions Program was launched by JoPACC in March 2021. The program aimed to recognize change makers -champions- who contributed to the expansion and acceptance of digital financial services. The targeted champions were community members or employed workers who were proactively taking the initiative to assist digital financial services users, spread awareness, or implement innovative ideas to increase the acceptance of digital financial services, which ultimately increases financial inclusion in the kingdom. By recognizing those champions, their exposure to wider audiences and networks expanded, allowing them to maximize their outreach and collaborate with different market players to implement and expand their ideas.
Selection Criteria
The selection of champions was conducted through a nomination process by all sector players and stakeholders where self-nomination was not allowed; this was followed by an evaluation process by JoPACC of all nominations against a clear criterion leading to the selection and announcement of winning champions. JoPACC accepted nominations to its DFS Champions Program from institutions and stakeholders in the financial ecosystem.
There were three categories of champions to be nominated and selected, with the possibility of having more than one winner under the same category:
- Sector champions: individuals who work in the digital financial, payment, and/or financial inclusion space.
- Community champions: individuals from local communities who have shown noteworthy interest in digital financial services and have contributed to its uptake within their local community.
- Early bird champions: individuals or institutions who were among the first to adopt a digital financial service and use it consistently. Such early birds assisted in increasing word of mouth and promoting the success of such services.
Nominees were assessed against the following criteria:
- The degree to which the nominee benefitted the overall financial inclusion ecosystem rather than their respective institution
- The nature and diversity of those who benefited from the nominee’s interventions
- The relative scale of the nominee’s interventions
- Could the nominee’s contributions be built on in the future, be replicated, or are sustainable?
- Did the interventions of the candidate have a long-term impact on the lives of beneficiaries and the local communities?
- Did the nomination come from within the organization or from a separate organization?
- Was the evidence provided in the nomination quantifiable, objective, and trusted?
- Degree to which the nominee has contributed outside of their normal tasks towards improving financial inclusion/usage of DFS.
This outreach program concluded in 2022. Read more on the program's winners for 2021 here, and the winner for 2022 here.