Diconsa

Client goal
The Gates Foundation is a private foundation with vast ambitions; one of its goals is to
reduce extreme poverty worldwide. In this case study, the foundation has asked McKinsey
to design a basic financial-services offering for inhabitants of remote communities in
Mexico.
Description of situation
The majority of Mexicos rural inhabitants are relatively poor, relying in part on
government benefits for their livelihood. As these people tend not to have bank accounts,
they usually collect governmental benefits in cash from a limited number of state bank
branches. These branches are often a long way away from where the benefit recipient
lives and therefore it can take a lot of time and effort for the recipient to collect their
benefits. In addition, traveling to the branches can sometimes expose the benefit recipient
to crime along the way.
The Mexican government also owns and operates a chain of 22,000 stores throughout
Mexico called Diconsa, which provide basic food, clothes, and other essential goods to the
rural population. These stores are supplied via a network of central and regional
warehouses and several thousand delivery trucks.
McKinsey study
McKinsey has been asked to investigate and assess the possibility of using the Diconsa
network to provide a basic set of financial services, supplementing the limited number of
state bank branches. At first, the offer would start with the dispensing of governmentbenefit payments, and move progressively to include savings accounts, bill payment,
insurance, credit, and other financial products.

Helpful hints
Write down important information.
Feel free to ask interviewer for explanation of any point that is not clear to you.
QUESTION 1
What should the team investigate to determine whether the Diconsa network could and
should be leveraged to provide a range of basic financial services to Mexico's rural
population?

Helpful hints
Take time to organize your thoughts before answering. This will help show your interviewer
that you have a logical approach and can think in an organized way, regardless of the
accuracy of the outcome.
Develop an overall approach before diving into details.
A good answer might include the following:
What are the benefits that might come from providing financial services via the Diconsa
network?
For the Mexican rural population
1 How much time, effort, and expense would the benefit recipient save through
the Diconsa network (for example, through shorter travel time)?
2 Beyond what was stated in the summary, what would be the benefits to the

rural population of access to a broader range of financial services? (for

example, better security for their money)?
For the government, state bank, and Diconsa network
1 Would there be benefits for the government in terms of increased
compliance/collection of benefits (for example lower administration costs)?
2 Would these financial services result in better financial management among
the rural population (for example, more business for Diconsa stores)?
3 Would this alternative model reduce pressure and increase efficiency for the
bank branches that are currently distributing benefit payments?
What are the risks that could occur from the venture? Some examples follow:
Lack of capacity or ability of the Diconsa network to deal with financial payments and
products
Lack of capacity of state bank to operate financial services across a much greater network
of outlets
Greater risk of fraud of theft due to less centralized control of benefit payments
A very good answer might articulate some less obvious benefits or risks to be
investigated, such as the following example:
The possible benefit of less cash being transported within the Diconsa network because
stores are now receiving cash and paying some of that cash out again, so cash balances
may be lower and less cash needs to be transported to and from the warehouses. This
may result in a lower cost as well as lower security risk for the Diconsa network.
Benefits for the Gates Foundation of potentially providing a model that may be replicable
in other countries
Benefits to the government in proving a model for distribution of a broader range of
services (for example, telecommunications or healthcare)
QUESTION 2
The team has estimated that it currently costs a family 50 pesos per month in
transportation and food to make the journey to collect their benefit payments. The team
also estimates that, if benefits were available for collection at local Diconsa stores, this
cost would be reduced by 30 percent.
Twenty percent of Mexico's population is rural, and of this, half currently receive state
benefits.
If all families could receive state benefits at their local Diconsa store, how much in total
per year would be saved across all Mexican rural families receiving state benefits?

Your interviewer can provide you with the following information if requested:
You can assume that Mexico has a population of 100 million.
You can also assume that families in Mexico have four members on average, and that this
does not differ by region.
Helpful hints
Don't feel rushed into performing calculations. Take your time.
Talk your interviewer through your steps so that you can demonstrate an organized
approach.
A good answer to this question would involve the following steps:
There are 5 million families in rural Mexico (20% x 100m 4 per family).
There are 2.5 million families receiving benefits (50% x 5 million families).
Each family currently spends 600 pesos per year to receive their benefits (50 pesos per

month x 12 months).
In total 1.5 billion pesos per year is spent by families in receiving their benefits (600 pesos
x 2.5 million families).
450 million pesos could be saved (30% x 1.5 billion pesos).
A very good response might note that these potential savings could be redirected to
enhance the benefit system further, and that there may be other costs that could be
saved also, such as the cost of lost working time in making the journey to collect benefits
(that is, opportunity costs).

QUESTION 3
The team conducted a survey on a sample of the rural population in three different regions
of Mexico. The populations were given a number of statements regarding the concept of
collecting their benefits at their nearest Diconsa store, and were asked how much they
agreed with each statement. The average response to some of the questions by region is
shown below:
What are your observations from this information and how would you explain these
trends?

Helpful hints
Take some time to look at the information and note down any observations you have.
Challenge yourself to identify trends that are not immediately obvious within the data.

A good answer might include the following:

There are significant differences by region on how interested people are in collecting their
benefits at their nearest Diconsa.
All people have a security concern about collecting their benefits at a Diconsa, but this is
particularly the case in Region B.
People are not so concerned about whether they will receive their benefits, except in
Region B.
Not everyone is completely convinced that it will cost them less to collect benefits from
their nearest Diconsa, despite the fact that they all agree it will save them time.
Broadly speaking, security, trust and cost effectiveness all seem to influence whether
someone is interested in collecting their benefits at a Diconsa. Peoples perception of
these seem to differ by region, with Region B being a particular issue.
A very good answer to this question might also suggest possible reasons for the
observations above:
One potential explanation for the results of Region B is that this region has significantly
greater levels of crime and corruption, which means that people are less convinced that
they will receive their benefits or that they can keep them secure once received.
Security overall is the issue that is consistently lowest rated across the regions which may
indicate that there is a relatively high degree of crime in all these areas.
Even though everyone agrees that this idea would save them time, there is disagreement
that it would save them money. This might indicate that certain stores are distrusted more
than others. For example, store proprietors may not be happy to just dispense cash
without the recipient making a purchase. This is supported by the fact that the responses
on trust and cost are correlated. This might have implications for the
compensation/incentive model of managers of the Discona.
QUESTION 4
In a meeting with representatives of the state bank, they express concern at how
challenging it will be to offer basic financial products to the rural population.
One of the representatives mentions that these are regions where people are poorly
educated, not familiar with banking products, and where there is a high degree of crime
and fraud. He asks for the teams thoughts how the bank could sell these services
effectively to this population given these challenges?

Helpful hint
Consider the issues raised in the question, and group your thoughts around these issues.
This will ensure that you are giving the most relevant answers to the question being
asked.
A good answer to this question might include:
If available, examples of how basic financial services have been successfully introduced
into other poor populations, and how that learning could be leveraged in this case.
Suggestions for how to overcome the lack of education and familiarity with banking
products, for example:
1 Pilot some products in certain regions where the population might be more
receptive, so that less receptive people can see that they are already being
used by others in similar situations.
2 Arrange in-store talks and demonstrations, focusing on educating people on
what the products are and how they can be used, and dispelling common
causes of distrust.

Partner with brands or organizations that are already well known and trusted
by the rural poor.
4 Advertise using individuals who have benefited from similar products, for
example, people who have made successful insurance claims, or who
managed to save money for a specific need.
5 Motivate Diconsa employees to encourage take-up of the products.
6 Offer promotions to encourage initial take-up, for example, pay 50 pesos
when the first savings deposit is made
Suggestions to overcome crime and fraud could include the following:
1 Increase security in Diconsa stores.
2 Impose daily or weekly limits on transactions.
3 Introduce technology such as chip cards to reduce fraudulent activity and to
discourage crime through less use of cash.
A very good answer may involve suggestions that can address all of the concerns together
such as the following:
Introduce compulsory secure chip cards for all benefit recipients to verify their identity
when collecting benefits can help reduce fraud.
These chip cards can be designed to handle financial-services transactions such as savings
accounts or bill payment, and the fact that the population is already familiar with the
technology can make them more open to the new services.