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CGAP works to make financial services meet the needs of poor people
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor is an independent think tank dedicated to financial inclusion. Through our work, we seek to empower poor people to capture opportunities and build resilience through financial services. We test, learn and develop innovative solutions through practical research and active engagement with our partners on building responsible and inclusive financial systems that help people move out of poverty, protect their gains and advance global development goals.
Photo by Felix Odhiambo, CGAP 2018 Photo Contest
In addition to the behavior of market actors, regulation can have a substantial impact on the dynamics of competition in digital financial services markets. CGAP examines some regulatory levers that policy makers can deploy to promote more competition in emerging economies.
One company offers microcredit. The other offers PAYGo financing for smartphones, tablets and solar home systems. In what may be a template for other microfinance institutions, they are helping each other to reach more low-income customers.
The expansion of digital financial accounts among poor customers has raised the question of whether e-money should be covered by deposit insurance and if so, how. This Technical Note examines the options while arguing that deposit insurance should not be the first line of defense in many emerging markets.
Where is fintech innovation happening in the Arab world? What types of solutions are emerging? CGAP shares preliminary results from our research on fintech in a region with roughly 140 million financially excluded adults.
