Recent Blogs
Blog
The Essential Role of Finance in Education, Housing and Health Care
CGAP’s research suggests that financial services are important tools for advancing equitable access to quality essential services like education, housing and health care.Blog
As PAYGo Solar Matures, Funders Can Do More to Close the Energy Gap
Pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar has enabled energy access for around 27 million customers. Funders can help PAYGo providers further close the energy access gap — while advancing financial inclusion — by focusing on these priorities for the sector.Blog
Inclusive Finance Can Help the World Achieve COP26 Goals – Here’s How
Amid the talk of national climate plans, net zero timelines, and the Paris rulebook, we should not forget about the need for practical tools — including financial services — that enable low-income populations to participate in the climate transition.Blog
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.Blog
Flipping the Switch: How Locking Assets Unlocks Credit for the Poor
A new study out of Uganda offers strong evidence that lock-out technology can enable providers to sustainably lend to low-income customers, who may need credit for school fees and other critical expenses.Blog
In Uganda, Solar Home Systems Help Students Stay in School
A pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar provider in Uganda is proving that an often-overlooked benefit of PAYGo – financial inclusion – can also affect education outcomes by keeping kids in the classroom.Blog
PAYGo Transformed Off-Grid Solar: Is Consumer Financing Next?
By partnering with pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar companies, electric utilities in Africa could expand low-income households' access to responsible consumer finance for refrigerators and other electric appliances.Blog
Asset Finance Innovations Can Advance SDGs – If They Scale Responsibly
New asset finance business models are breaking down old barriers to putting life-changing assets into the hands of poor households. But to meaningfully advance SDGs, they’ll need to scale responsibly, and this is where funders can play a role.Blog
Former PAYGo CFO: Smart Subsidies Can Scale Energy Financing
Well-designed subsidies could create a stronger foundation for the solar home system industry and enable it to reach more low-income customers, according to entrepreneur and former PAYGo executive Joshua Romisher.Blog
Stepping Back: Product, Collections and Credit Risk in PAYGo Solar
While PAYGo solar companies can lower delinquency rates by improving their credit risk management practices, improving repayment starts with even more fundamental factors: having an affordable, quality product and effective collections.Blog
PAYGo Solar Opens Pathways to Microfinance in Rural Senegal
A microfinance institution and pay-as-you-go solar company have teamed up to expand rural, low-income customers' access to microfinance based on their solar loan repayment histories.Blog
2 Financial Services That Increase Smallholders’ Food Security
Evidence from around the world shows that savings and insurance help smallholder farmers to reduce hunger and manage production risks.Blog
3 Ways Financial Inclusion Improves Women’s Food Security
There is evidence that financial inclusion improves food security for women in at least three ways.Blog
Digital Payments Matter More for Public Services: 3 Reasons Why
Water utilities and other public service providers can benefit in at least three ways from digital payments.Blog
Digital Credit Helping to Put Kids in Classrooms in Cote d'Ivoire
By partnering with farmers’ cooperatives to offer an innovative digital credit product, Advans is seeing high repayment rates and having an impact on school attendance in rural Cote d'Ivoire.Blog
Growth vs. Sustainability: Credit Risk in PAYGo Solar
Rapid customer growth in PAYGo solar can come with a cost: too many customers that don’t repay. To better understand the realities and challenges of running a PAYGo credit operation, we spoke with heads of credit and risk at PAYGo solar companies, equity investors and creditors.Blog
How Bangladesh Digitized Education Aid for 10 Million Families
In just months, Bangladesh digitized financial aid payments for education to millions of families. What can other countries learn from this rapid transition to digital payments?Blog
A Digital Platform to Manage Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses
The M-TIBA mobile health wallet combines savings, remittances and other digital financial services to help low-income customers cover health care expenses.Blog
Off-Grid Solar Company Helping Customers Pay School Fees
In Africa, some of the most innovative ideas in education financing are coming from an unlikely source - an off-grid solar company.Blog