By Gabriel Davel A loan from an agrifinance institution enabled this coffee co-op in Uganda to train its employees in business administration, logistics and computer skills. Photo: Wim Opmeer, 2018 CGAP Photo Contest With all the enthusiasm for fintech and the digital revolution, it’s easy to forget the importance of traditional credit market infrastructure, including “old-fashioned” institutions such as credit bureaus, collateral and company registration systems and the legal systems that enable […]

By Laura Caron Background & Opportunities for Digital Finance in Agriculture. Many rural and peri-urban smallholder farmers and agribusinesses struggle to access financial institutions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the Global Findex 2017, only 23% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa were able to save in order to start, operate, or expand a farm or other business, and only 30% of adults living in rural areas had any account at […]

  By David Porteous BFA is about to conclude our FIBR (Financial Inclusion on Business Runways) Project, an innovative R&D initiative which sought to demonstrate how smartphones can accelerate and deepen financial inclusion in developing countries. When we launched the FIBR Project in 2015, we outlined a set of assumptions about how increased connectivity and digitization would create “business runways for financial inclusion” for small businesses in Africa, helping to accelerate […]

Originally posted on The World Bank’s website.              Cash transfer payment Sierra Leone. Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank  Juan and his family fled their home during Peru’s 1995 insurgency. Like many other Peruvians, they left behind all of their possessions, including their IDs and other documents. Without an ID, Juan—along with 3 million other Peruvians whose civil registration records were lost or destroyed during this period—was […]

By Dan Salazar, Director, Mastercard and Carlos Monteverde, Product Manager, Mastercard Digitizing payroll, mass transit and supply chains encourages use of digital payments and greater access to financial services Image: REUTERS What good is a hammer without a nail – or, for that matter, without a piece of wood? A hammer can be a powerful tool, but alone, it’s just a hunk of metal. Digital payments are no different. Cards […]

The Marketplace Lending Association (MLA) joined as the latest Signatory to the “Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services.” These guidelines were co-developed by an Investor Working Group of more than 30 members including IFC, CDC and DEG, among others, through feedback and lessons culled from existing global industry principles and frameworks. The MLA represents some of the most prominent online lenders in the US. Names like Prosper, LendingClub, and SoFi […]

By Schan Duff In 2016, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pioneered the concept of a market-driven regulatory sandbox with cohorts selected from a general pool of aspiring innovators. Reminiscent of private-sector incubators or accelerators, the FCA’s sandbox model had immediate intuitive appeal for regulators and fintech innovators seeking common ground. Scan the globe today and you will find that most of the active regulatory sandbox programs follow a similar approach. […]