Research & Analysis

Microfinance and COVID-19: Principles for Regulatory Response

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, further policy steps have proven necessary, both within and beyond the financial sector, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on businesses and ordinary people. This Briefing applies five guiding principle to country contexts, and specifically addresses what each principle means for regulatory responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

Microfinance & COVID-19: Examples of Regulatory Responses affecting Microfinance Providers

This table provides country examples for regulatory responses identified in the Briefing Microfinance and COVID-19: Principles for Regulatory Response.

Debt Restructuring in Microfinance

The twin global crises of a health pandemic and economic lockdowns are severely harming the livelihoods of low-income people around the world. Microfinance providers and funders are returning to the negotiating table to respond to liquidity and, possibly, solvency issues facing distressed MFPs.

Social Assistance Payments in Response to COVID-19: The Role of Donors

Countries worldwide are using social assistance payments as a component of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This briefing addresses how donors and their partners can design and implement social assistance payments that are efficient and secure while providing recipients with reliable, convenient, and safe access to their payments.

How to Build a Regulatory Sandbox: A Practical Guide for Policy Makers

When is a regulatory sandbox the best method for financial regulators to test innovative products and services? And how can they use a sandbox for advancing financial inclusion? CGAP’s new guide leads regulators step by step through the decision-making process.

(Un)stacking Financial Market Infrastructure

Challenges around scaling effective financial infrastructures are not small, but when addressed effectively, a system can emerge that improves the value of financial services for poor people.

Digital Cash Transfers in Times of COVID-19: Opportunities and Considerations for Women's Inclusion and Empowerment

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group, CGAP, and Women’s World Banking, has developed a joint white paper on gender intentional digital cash transfers in the time of COVID-19, offering guidance and considerations for policymakers to support women’s inclusion and empowerment.  

Relief for Informal Workers: Falling through the Cracks in COVID-19

Informal workers are not recognized by social protection agencies and do not have the protections offered by formal sector employment, yet they make up a majority of the workforce. Many have lost income-generating opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and providing relief for these individuals is critical.

COVID-19 and Disruptions to Vulnerable Rural Livelihoods in the Sahel

The livelihoods of vulnerable rural households in fragile environments such as Niger and the wider Sahel have been strongly affected by the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. A holistic, coordinated approach by stakeholders can help create solutions that make it possible for vulnerable rural households to escape the recurring cycle of emergency food aid and greatly enhance their resilience to future shocks.

Rapid Account Opening in a Pandemic

Governments and funders worldwide are responding to the severe economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering social assistance payments to families and individuals. Increasingly, they are turning to digital delivery for disbursements, which has accelerated the demand for financial services providers (FSPs) to be able to open formal financial accounts rapidly and with minimal or zero physical contact with customers.