Blog

Cool in Crisis: How Bangladeshi MFIs Stay Resilient

Through flood, drought and famine, Bangladesh's microfinance industry has survived over the decades and continued to serve low-income customers in times of crisis. What has made Bangladeshi microfinance institutions so resilient?

Has Microcredit Empowered Women in Bangladesh? Yes, But Not by Itself

Microfinance has contributed to women’s empowerment, but to understand the impact you have to look beyond where many observers have assumed they would find it.

How Bangladesh Democratized Its Savings Culture

Bangladesh may be best known within financial inclusion circles as the birthplace of modern microcredit. But it has also democratized savings by developing formal savings instruments that are used today by many of the country’s poorest households.

Leveraging Gender Lens Investments for Women’s Financial Needs

Gender lens investing is gaining momentum among a wide range of investors as an approach to women's empowerment. Here are three ways this approach could accelerate women's financial inclusion.

Bangladesh’s 50 Years: Taking the Long View of Financial Inclusion

Bangladesh turned 50 this year. What does the country's decades-long journey with financial inclusion reveal about how financial inclusion connects to wider development? This post kicks off a new series exploring this question.

Digital Consumer Credit in India – Time to Take a Closer Look

As media reports of abusive lending practices emerge amid India’s digital consumer credit boom, the country can steer digital credit in a more promising direction by ramping up its efforts to listen to consumers and taking the necessary actions.

Small but Mighty: CGAP and the Future of Financial Inclusion

In her final leadership essay as CGAP’s CEO, Greta Bull shares her perspective on the impact COVID-19 has had on global development and some lessons she’s learned about financial inclusion.

Rural Agent Networks: An Opportunity for Development Funders

Agent networks serve an important role in delivering digital financial services in rural areas, and they present an opportunity for funders to achieve development goals.

Inclusive Finance in Fragile Countries: Advancing a Vital Agenda

With 80% of the world’s poorest expected to be living in fragile countries by 2030, fighting poverty means addressing fragility. Though often overlooked, underdeveloped financial systems and financial exclusion are key aspects of fragility.

Considering Open APIs for Digital Finance? 5 Things You Need to Know

APIs are at the heart of many innovations in fintech. Over the past four years, CGAP has supported several financial services providers on their journey to open APIs. Here are our top five lessons for providers that are thinking about opening APIs.

Two Sides, One Coin: Credit Risk Management and Consumer Protection

For companies that offer asset financing for everything from solar panels to bicycles, consumer protection measures aren't just good for customers; they can also help companies to manage credit risk and improve their loan portfolios.

How a New Set of Metrics Is Poised to Transform PAYGo Solar

The PAYGo PERFORM Key Performance Indicators offer a pathway to growth and maturity for the off-grid solar industry.

Channeling Women’s Potential to Strengthen Last-Mile Agent Networks

In analyzing how to extend the reach and quality of rural cash in/cash out agent networks, we have come to realize that it is critical to apply a gender lens to identify key barriers for women. Here are three basic steps to do so.

Africa Is Top Recipient of Financial Inclusion Funding

For the first time since CGAP began its funder survey, Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019 received more financial inclusion funding than any other region, with $7.6 billion in commitments. But new pressures on development budgets could impact the region.

3 Lessons for Building Resilience Through Customer Centricity

A COVID-19 initiative to help Albanian smallholders acquire fertilizers, seeds and other agri-inputs using digital payments yields lessons in customer centricity.

Investing in Half the Sky: Funders and Women’s Financial Inclusion

To better understand how funders are approaching women’s financial inclusion, CGAP took a fresh look at its 2019 Funder Survey data and conducted a supplemental survey of 30 funders in August 2020.

How Are Funders Looking to Add Value in Digital Financial Inclusion?

The latest CGAP Funder Survey shows that less than half of development funding for digital financial inclusion goes to digital financial services (DFS) providers. Much of the funding instead goes toward building a DFS ecosystem.

Digitally Included, Yet Poor: What Do Their Data Trails Tell Us?

Many people who generate significant amounts of digital data are poor. Who are they? What sort of data are they generating? And how can it be used to make financial services more useful to them?

Time Is Money: Financial Services Can Help Rural Women Save More of It

Time poverty prevents many rural women from pursuing educational or income-generating opportunities. Here are three ways financial services can help alleviate time poverty among rural women.

Is Financial Inclusion a Reason to Push Central Bank Digital Currencies?

Advocates of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) often cite financial inclusion as a reason to introduce them. CGAP examines their three main arguments: improved access to digital financial services, enhanced efficiency of payments and lower cost.