Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Digital para Transformar: Evidencias y aprendizajes hacia el Bienestar Financiero en Bogotá
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Nuestro reto es comprender, desde la experiencia cotidiana de los hogares vulnerables del IMG y de los actores que conforman la oferta financiera y digital de la ciudad, qué factores conductuales, emocionales, culturales y operativos limitan su bienestar financiero; y cómo servicios digitales más simples, confiables y centrados en el usuario podrían fortalecer prácticas financieras más saludables y sostenibles.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
En 2024 se consolidó una alianza estratégica entre Banca de las Oportunidades, la Secretaría Distrital de Integración Social (SDIS) y el PNUD – Laboratorio de Aceleración, con el propósito de comprender el comportamiento financiero y digital de los hogares vulnerables del IMG y avanzar hacia la construcción del Ecosistema de Bienestar Financiero.
Los casi 800.000 beneficiarios del IMG dependen de billeteras digitales para acceder a las transferencias. Aunque el 90% recibe el IMG por medios digitales, la profundidad del uso es limitada: la mayoría retira el dinero en efectivo inmediatamente, reproduce prácticas tradicionales y evita funcionalidades adicionales.
Hallazgos clave:
• Uso promedio de billeteras: 1–4 veces/semana, funciones básicas.
• 51% ahorra; 69% en alcancía física.
• 91% no solicita crédito.
• 79% nunca ha tenido seguro.
• Narrativas persistentes: “la plata se pierde”, “me pueden quitar lo que sobra”, “eso no es para mí”.
La confianza en las billeteras es relativamente alta, pero baja para otros productos financieros. Además, la percepción de riesgo, la desinformación, la falta de habilidades digitales y experiencias negativas (caídas del sistema, Transfiya, servicio al cliente) refuerzan un uso superficial.
En síntesis: la población usa servicios digitales, pero no necesariamente confía, entiende o se beneficia plenamente de ellos.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
• 8 grupos focales con demanda (70+ participantes) en Suba, Fontibón y Ciudad Bolívar.
• 1 grupo focal con oferta (billeteras, SDIS, operadores).
• 60+ encuestas.
Resultados cuantitativos:
• Frecuencia de uso BD: 43% (2–4 veces/semana), 41% (1–2 veces).
• Tenencia: 48% tiene 1 BD; 41% tiene 2 BD.
• Uso principal: 28% transferencias; 26% servicios públicos; 14% compras; 11% ahorro.
• Ahorro: 51% ahorra; 69% en alcancía; 25% en BD.
• Crédito: 91% no lo solicita.
• Seguros: 79% nunca ha tenido uno.
• Autonomía digital: 73% transa sin ayuda; 27% requiere apoyo.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Los grupos focales mostraron patrones profundos:
• El efectivo funciona como símbolo de control y certeza emocional.
• Uso digital frecuente pero superficial: funcionalidades financieras no entendidas.
• Servicio al cliente deficiente: cada mala experiencia destruye confianza.
• Narrativas de riesgo: miedo a pérdida de dinero, fraudes, bloqueos.
• La billetera es percibida como útil pero inestable (actividad proyectiva).
• Fuerte demanda por educación financiera experiencial, no teórica.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
El AccLab aporta metodologías conductuales, análisis profundo de tensiones, herramientas proyectivas, síntesis estratégica y soporte para prototipado dentro del Ecosistema de Bienestar Financiero. Asi mismo, aportamos aliados financieros para que hagan parte del ejercicio y conocimiento sobre las barreras desde la oferta y la demanda para la inclusión financiera digital
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Los hogares del IMG usan billeteras digitales, pero no avanzan hacia bienestar financiero. La exploración reveló barreras culturales, emocionales y de diseño. Bogotá puede construir un Ecosistema centrado en la vida real de las personas.
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
• Secretaria de Integracion Social – Alcaldía de Bogota (liderazgo)
• Banca de las Oportunidades – Gobierno Nacional
• PNUD – AccLab
• Aliados financieros
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The collaboration brings together the strategic leadership of the Bogotá City Government, through the Secretaría Distrital de Integración Social (SDIS), the national expertise of Banca de las Oportunidades in financial inclusion, and the innovation and learning capabilities of UNDP’s Accelerator Lab.
This joint effort was established to understand, through evidence and user-centered methodologies, how vulnerable households experience financial and digital services in their daily lives. The three institutions co-designed and implemented an exploratory phase that included focus groups, behavioural insight tools, analysis of user journeys, and the identification of structural tensions between the supply and demand of financial services.
The collaboration allowed each actor to contribute its strengths:
SDIS provided territorial leadership, access to IMG beneficiaries, and integration of findings into the City’s 2026 planning.
Banca de las Oportunidades contributed technical guidance on financial inclusion, insights from the financial sector, and support in validating opportunities with providers.
UNDP Accelerator Lab contributed wih methodological design, behavioural analysis, synthesis of insights.
Together, the partners co-created a shared roadmap and prioritized actions—such as experiential financial education, simplification of digital services, savings, financial education—that will guide the prototyping and implementation phase of Bogotá’s Financial Well-Being Ecosystem.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
¿Cómo podríamos fortalecer el bienestar financiero de los hogares vulnerables del IMG mediante servicios y experiencias digitales simples, confiables y centrados en el usuario?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
We will use mixed data collection to understand real user behaviours; facilitation and partnerships to align government, supply actors, and communities; sensemaking to identify patterns and behavioural drivers; and systems thinking to map ecosystem interdependencies. Together, these methods allow us to design financially meaningful, user-centered digital solutions that strengthen well-being for IMG households.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
• Falta de comprensión real del comportamiento financiero
• Desalineación oferta–demanda
• Falta de insumos para educación experiencial
• Necesidad de priorización estratégica
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
The early champions for the grow phase include SDIS, which leads the city’s Financial Well-Being Ecosystem and can integrate these insights into IMG operations; Banca de las Oportunidades, which can scale learnings to national financial inclusion efforts; and digital wallet providers, who can adapt product design and customer support based on the findings. Engaging these actors early will ensure institutional ownership, feasibility for prototyping, and broader adoption of solutions that strengthen financial well-being for vulnerable households.
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Thank you
1No poverty
10Reduced innequalities
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