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What Are the Real Barriers to Health Insurance in Guatemala & Namibia?

What if the biggest barriers to health insurance coverage for informal workers are not the ones insurers assume? Findings from Guatemala and Namibia challenge assumptions insurers and authorities had about why health protection gaps exist.

What Makes Microcredit Work, And for Whom? Introducing the CHIPS Data Set

The Credit's Heterogeneous Impact Pathways Study (CHIPS) data set explores whether existing data could be used in new ways to find answers to lingering questions about the impact of microcredit, among other financial services, on customers.

Fighting Fire With Fire – Can AI be Used to Combat AI-Powered Fraud?

As criminals weaponize AI for sophisticated financial scams, institutions are fighting back. Explore how authorities are using analytical and generative AI to combat fraud and safeguard consumers.

Closing the Gender Protection Gap in Brazil Starts with Better Data

This blog examines gender gaps in insurance coverage and industry leadership, highlighting recent data from Brazil and Latin America. It emphasizes the need for standardized gender-disaggregated data to guide regulatory action and expand market access.

From Bean to Bar and Beyond - Traceability and Women's Financial Visibility

Tony’s Open Chain uses traceability data to unlock women's financial visibility, creating verified credit profiles to drive inclusion in Côte d’Ivoire when paired with digital payments and protective literacy.

Fraud in Digital Finance: a Crisis Calling for Ecosystem Solutions

Global financial fraud is a rising challenge, but solutions are emerging. We explore how cross-border collaboration, AI-driven detection, and coordinated regulation can protect digital finance users and secure global financial inclusion.

It’s Time for Customer-Centric Client Protection Certifications

Financial consumer protection must shift from policy-based certification to outcome-focused evaluations, using direct customer feedback to ensure genuine safety and responsible finance in a digital world.

From Pilots to Scale: The Next Frontier for Climate-Responsive Credit

A new type of pre-arranged credit is helping farmers stay on their feet after climate shocks and giving financial institutions a reason to stay with them.

The Microfinance Debate Is Missing the Point

For too long, policymakers, economists, and investors have focused on whether microfinance actually helps people, reducing a complex issue to a meaningless yes-or-no verdict. The most important questions concern how loans are designed, delivered, and regulated, who receives them, and what they are used for.

Is Tokenization the Answer to Financial Inclusion Challenges?

The relevance of tokenization for financial inclusion is unexplored. Could tokenization help lower barriers to investment, expand credit access for small businesses, or improve cross-border payments? This blog explores key tokenization use cases that may advance financial inclusion.

How Carbon Markets Could Help Expand Affordable Housing Finance

Construction accounts for 37% of global CO2 emissions, yet millions of people in EMDEs lack access to affordable green housing. Carbon markets could lower green building material costs, while also breaking down barriers to inclusive housing finance and helping to scale access to affordable, eco-friendly homes.

The Dual Binding Constraints to Scaling AI in Finance

Despite rapid advances in AI capabilities, the underlying data foundations have not kept pace. AI adoption is fundamentally constrained by the strength, inclusiveness, and usability of underlying data – not as much by the sophistication of algorithms.

Competition in Financial Services: Three Country Paths, One Bigger Question

While access to finance has grown, market concentration and high costs remain. Brazil, India, and the UK prove that when financial regulators prioritize competition through policy, they can lower prices and improve variety for all consumers.

What's the Holdup? Regulatory Friction and Inclusive Insurance

To scale inclusive insurance, we must move from creating frameworks to making them investable. Here, we highlight how shifting toward risk-based approvals, cross-agency coordination, and institutionalized public-private dialogue can turn regulatory friction into market-ready solutions.

Navigating Standalone Licenses in Inclusive Insurance

Over the past two decades, more than 30 jurisdictions have begun offering special licenses for inclusive insurance. By letting newcomers sell affordable and customer-centric plans, they’ve encouraged market expansion and innovation. Now, insurance authorities are refining these rules.

Personal Financial Management Tools Can Boost Financial Health in India

Personal financial management (PFM) apps are emerging as a potential driver of improved financial health. By aggregating data across accounts and generating real-time insights, they promise personalized financial advice. But how is this translating into meaningful outcomes for users?

She Saves: Designing Savings Products That Work for Young Women

For young women with irregular incomes and limited buffers, savings rather than borrowing is the preferred way to build assets and manage uncertainty. The question is not whether to offer savings, but how to design products that fit young women’s realities.

Beyond the Headlines: EAP's Hidden Inclusion Gaps

While high-level data suggests financial inclusion is rising in East Asia and the Pacific, China’s massive progress often masks disparities elsewhere. Here, we explore the "hidden gaps" facing women and rural communities and call for more inclusive financial systems.

From Digital Adoption to Digital Advantage in Microfinance

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) must move beyond piecemeal digital updates to comprehensive digitization. By evolving their models, MFIs can improve efficiency, reach more last-mile clients, and compete with new fintechs.

How Providers Can Serve Micro-Merchants Sustainably

This blog discusses why digital merchant payments for micro- and rural merchants in sub-Saharan Africa struggle to be financially sustainable—and what providers, regulators, and development partners can do to fix that.