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Sama
A community-based savings platform to financially empower local communities of middle-aged women in India.
Collaborative project with Abed Darwazeh and Ruhie Shah.
Role
UX Research + Strategy Lead
Timeline
Oct 2023 - Dec 2023 (2 months)
Methods
Market Research, User Research, Competitor Analysis, Persona Mapping, User Testing, Wireframing, Visual Design, Figma Prototyping
Key Results
- Calculated market size (TAM, SAM, SOM) and identified a product-market fit by mapping 11 Fintech trends and competitors in a 2x2 matrix.
- Strategized business and revenue models to pitch MVP based on behavioral insights from 10+ user interviews.
- Attained over 60% of early adopters from initial product testing and iterated based on feedback.
Problem
Indian women aged 40+ face cultural and social barriers that impede their financial education and challenge their desire to gain financial independence.
Intervention
Sama leverages the power of local communities to help groups of women lend, save, and invest money for long-term financial literacy.
Key Features:
- Encourages group accountability through common financial saving goals.
- Turn-based pooling, lending, and borrowing based on the “Kitty-Party” social concept in India.
- Provides options to wisely invest saved money, thereby improving financial literacy in the long run.
Key Features
- Encourages group accountability through common financial saving goals.
-
Turn-based pooling, lending, and borrowing based on the “Kitty-Party” social concept in India.
- Provides options to wisely invest saved money, thereby improving financial literacy in the long run.
The story of Sama begins with our mothers and their struggles for financial independence, as women coming from emerging economies.
However, they also share a remarkable strength — the support of tight-knit communities of friends and family.
“My husband is usually in charge of our finances.”
-Eshita, 49
“There’s no motivation to save on my own.”
-Maisa, 46“People in India don’t really discuss finances with their partner.”
-Shital, 52
Actual quotes from interviews with our participants, all Arab and Indian women aged 40-55.
Early market research from the Humanity Welfare Council revealed that this scenario is not unique
We learned that 516 million or 80% of women in India struggle with financial literacy.
So how did we simplify this massive problem into one compact digital solution?
With hours of whiteboarding, obviously.
How can we empower middle-aged women in India to make better decisions around their money habits?
Insights from market research and user interviews compelled us to look into ways to break through the cultural stigma and barrier to access to financial resources for Indian women. We heard instances of:
- Mothers keeping track of family finances on paper.
- Fathers, who, most of the time, are breadwinners in the family, taking charge of family expenses.
- A lack of transparent conversations around finances and how to improve them.
Concept A: Expense BookConcept B: Family finance management
Concept C: Group accountability for financial goals
The feedback we received was mixed as all 3 concepts were based on assumptions, not existing behavior.
We had to lower the barrier of entry by studying existing practices around finances more closely.
Funneling cultural insights into a cohesive solution
Our big breakthrough came when we moved away from western practices of financial saving and leaned into local traditions like “Kitty Parties”.
During our interviews, 9 women from 4 countries, validated the success of “Kitty Parties”, which are a way for small groups of women to pool money and receive the total at the end of their turn to host parties.
Market trends in India also point to an increased preference for peer-to-peer borrowing and lending within communities.
According to a forecast report by IndustryArc, the India P2P lending market size is forecast to reach $10.5 billion by 2026.
To understand where we stood amongst our competitors, we cold-called, messaged, and emailed 11 Fintech competitors offering services to women both locally in India and globally.
Mapping out our competitors also showed untapped potential for community-based financial learning. Sama bridges this identified gap.
Sama leverages the power of local and urban communities to ease conversations that stem from cultural stigma and ultimately, provide financial empowerment for women. 2x2 matrix
Join a group with common goalsSet your goal intentions and preferencesTurn on lender protection for extra security
View group progress and turnsCelebtrate your successLearn ways to use your new savings wisely
Don’t take our word for it, hear it from our users:
“A good service either gives value or entertains, here I’m getting value.”
-Eman, 52
“This way I am able to use the pooled in savings to grow my money.”
-Neela, 53“There’s a sense of security and trust in the app with lender protection”
-Monali, 50“The Kitty party concept but for actual money feels familiar and would work well.”
-Meghna, 44
Lessons Learned:
Pivot with confidence and don't look back
Our concept pivot around 9 weeks in was hugely successful because we trusted the new direction we were moving towards. We used the insights we gathered from concept testing to guide our thought process behind the development of Sama.
Focus on selling your story
Numerous times, we forced ourselves to move away from polishing our designs and instead focus our time and attention on how we could effectively communicate the story of our product.
Pitching vs Presenting
We had to learn how to “pitch” in a way that connects with the audience and who we are as people. Pitching helped us realize why we were doing what we were doing, and how we were doing it.
My team and I after our pitchA group picture with our professor Me pitching :)
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