Searching: Research & Analysis

The Promise of Fintech for Micro and Small Enterprises

Nearly 500 million micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are estimated to be operating around the world. Access to credit and other financial services is critical to the growth and sustainability of these businesses, and consequentially to the low-income and vulnerable populations which rely on MSEs for their livelihoods. Yet despite decades of efforts and some notable successes in expanding MSE finance, the credit gap remains an estimated 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars.

TymeBank Case Study: The Customer Impact of Inclusive Digital Banking

As a fully digital retail bank in South Africa, TymeBank has created a suite of basic products that cater to the essential financial needs of low-income rural customers.

Digitization in Microfinance: Case Studies of Pathways to Success

This Working Paper takes a unique look at microfinance institution innovation with digital technologies by featuring case studies on five MFIs that successfully created measurable customer and business value through digitization:

Microfinance Solvency and COVID-19: A Call for Coordination

This COVID-19 Briefing looks specifically at how to address the solvency risks facing medium and small microfinance providers, which often reach into communities and geographic areas that are not served by larger lenders.

Snapshots: MFIs During the COVID-19 Crisis

CGAP and Symbiotics analyze COVID-19's impact on the performance of the more than 300 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Symbiotics global portfolio, in this series of brief papers published between November 2020 and July 2021.

Crisis Roadmap for Microfinance Institutions: COVID-19 and Beyond

This practical guide describes steps that microfinance institutions can take to navigate the COVID-19 health pandemic and prepare for future crises.

Debt Restructuring in Microfinance

Based on workshops with nearly 300 participants from 30 countries, this COVID-19 Briefing contains insights for creditors and debtors on ways to effectively manage debt restructuring talks, brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.

Results Dashboard: CGAP Pulse Survey of Microfinance Institutions

The interactive dashboard is no longer available. For more information on the CGAP Pulse Survey of Microfinance Institutions that launched in June 2020 and concluded in December 2020, please visit the following pages:

Microfinance and COVID-19: A Framework for Regulatory Response

A framework for identifying and assessing crisis responses must take account of the special characteristics of microfinance which leads to the question of how regulators should respond. A review of current practice in a range of countries suggests there are six key steps to be taken at the level of regulation and policy.

Greenfield MFIs in Sub-Saharan Africa

This Forum explores the contribution of greenfield MFIs to access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).The greenfield model has come a long way in a short time in SSA from seven greenfield MFIs in 2006 to 31 by 2012.