oung person with an elderly person creating ceramics under a wood-built shelter

Our Vision

Responsible and inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all.

We work to make financial services meet the needs of the world's most vulnerable

Who we are: CGAP is a global partnership of more than 30 leading development organizations that works to advance the lives of people living in poverty, especially women, through financial inclusion. 

Our Mission: CGAP works at the frontier of inclusive finance to test solutions, spark innovation, generate evidence, and share insights. Our knowledge enables public and private stakeholders to scale solutions that make financial ecosystems meet the needs of poor, vulnerable, and underserved people and of micro and small enterprises (MSEs), including through advancing women’s economic empowerment.

As a global public good, our independent research and analysis is available to all.

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Harnessing Inclusive Finance: A Path Toward Thriving and Sustainable Futures

CGAP VII Strategy

CGAP’s five-year strategy (CGAP VII Strategy) covers the period of 2023 to 2028 (FY24-28) and will contribute to making financial ecosystems meet the need of everyone – including those living in poverty and micro and small firms – to enhance their resiliency to shocks and their ability to seize economic opportunities and to participate in a green transition.  

To achieve this objective, a critical goal of CGAP VII is to go beyond fostering an increase in the breadth and depth of financial inclusion, i.e., in the access and usage of financial services, to also focus on the utility of financial inclusion. That is, on enhancing the practical benefits and positive outcomes financial inclusion generates.

diagram illustrating breadth, depth, utility


To achieve this, we will focus on contributing to the following outcomes through our work program: 

High-level outcomes

  • Mobilizing financial services for climate adaptation, mitigation and a just transition
  • Mobilizing financial services for building resilience to shocks and managing risks
  • Mobilizing financial services for women and MSEs to capture economic opportunities

And to enable these outcomes, we will focus on the following intermediary outcome and foundational work:

Intermediary outcomes

  • Increasing the breadth and depth of financial inclusion

Foundational Outcomes

  • Promoting enabling responsible financial ecosystems and enabling financial sector policies and regulations
  • Enhancing the effectiveness of impact investing in inclusive finance and the inclusiveness of carbon markets
  • Generating evidence of what works, where, and for whom

diagram outlining the 7 outcome areas

Read the CGAP VII Strategy 

CGAP’s History

CGAP was established in 1995 as the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. As a dynamic organization working at the frontier of financial inclusion, CGAP has lived many lives since then. For example, CGAP has watched and supported as microcredit morphed into microfinance, then into financial inclusion and digital finance, and, most recently, into inclusive finance and inclusive financial ecosystems. 
diagram illustrating CGAP's evolving mission over the years
CGAP has constantly explored new ways to advance financial inclusion and ensure it can benefit people and economies in light of contemporary challenges. Our focus at any given time has reflected both our past learnings and our assessments of the most pressing issues or promising opportunities for financial inclusion at that time. Throughout our history, our strategic focus – including our vision and mission – has therefore continuously evolved. The CGAP VII Strategy is the culmination of more than 25 years of work.