Searching: Blogs

Can Islamic Banking Offer Some Lessons to Islamic Microfinance?

The journey of Islamic banking may offer some lessons - including product diversity - to Islamic microfinance.

Why is the Progress of Mobile Money so Gradual and Patchy?

Mobile money may be inevitable, but progress thus far has been slow and results scant.

Mobile Money: Even Data Analytics Has Limitations

While quantitative data analysis is a useful first step in understanding active mobile customers, it is even more insightful when providers actually go and talk with their customers directly.

Does Outpatient Care Through Microinsurance Offer Value?

Is there a business case for microinsurance? Does it provide value for clients? In Tanzania, The MicroInsurance Centre's MILK Project found two clear benefits to clients: getting them to a doctor sooner and efficiently financing health shocks.

A New Wave of E-Money in Latin America

In Latin America, the banking sector is highly rooted in the economy, and to think about non-bank issued electronic money is almost heretic. But things are changing.

Comparing Branchless Banking in Bangladesh and Pakistan

What can be learned from benchmarking Bangladesh to the regional leader Pakistan which had begun two years earlier in 2009? Both have similar populations, mobile penetration and income levels making the comparison even more interesting.

Micro Health Insurance: Chronicle of a Death Foretold?

Micro health insurance clients are increasingly being served by government-backed services. Does this mean that the trend is to move away from private providers?

A National Experiment: Sharia-Compliant Finance in Sudan

Sudan's banking system went Islamic in the 1980's and can offer several lessons on delivering Sharia-compliant financial products to the poor.

A History Lesson for Advancing Interoperability in Mobile Money

What can we learn from the past in markets like the United States and Japan that can help advance interoperability between financial service providers?

From Diagnostic to Action: Developing Microinsurance in Nigeria

A Microinsurance Country Diagnostic in Nigeria revealed that while there is a huge opportunity for the development of a microinsurance market, low-income people in the country have limited knowledge of insurance and the value it can deliver.

The Future of Provider Ecosystems for Financial Inclusion

CGAP’s five-year strategy recognizes that in most countries poor people are more likely to get financial services from a range of commercial and public sector actors.

Access to Insurance Through Regulation and Supervision

Adequate regulation and supervision enhance policyholder protection. That is the ultimate objective of insurance supervision and regulation according to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Islamic Microfinance in Yemen: Challenges and Opportunities

In an effort to foster hope and stability among Yemen’s poor, who have been disproportionately affected by the country’s turmoil, Al-Amal Microfinance Bank is working to introduce a range of Sharia-compliant microfinance products aimed at reaching the unbanked.

Inclusive Finance and Segmenting Smallholder Farmers

Not all smallholder farmers are the same. Of the 500 million smallholders in low- and middle-income countries, many need specialized financial services tailored to their agricultural activities.

Mobile Life Insurance: Innovations From Pakistan

The commercial viability of businesses that provide life insurance to the poor is difficult to predict. The strong penetration of mobile phones in Pakistan provides a cost-effective method of acquiring customers that holds promise for the industry.

Branchless Banking in Pakistan: the Glass Half and Full View

Branchless banking is flourishing in Pakistan, which is on track to become the most competitive mobile money market in the world.

Open Sourcing Product Innovation

In our work through applied product innovation, we are learning that being open about the products that didn’t work can be an important mandate for all providers—as what is discarded by some can be a treasure for others.

Landscaping Microinsurance In Africa And Latin America

Two recent landscape studies provide much needed data to assist a variety of stakeholders – including insurers, distribution channels, policy-makers, donors and consultants – to understand the microinsurance markets more effectively, leading to better development and expansion of microinsurance.

Does “Effective Interoperability” Equal Financial Inclusion?

The measurement of “effective interoperability,” depends on the ultimate policy goal, which could be financial inclusion. In the case of Pakistan, “effective interconnection” could facilitate a 100 million Pakistanis with electronic financial access within eight years.

Why People Don’t Buy Microinsurance

Several factors influence a household's decision to buy microinsurance. A review of over 30 studies shows that trust and liquidity constraints are amongst the most important determinants while understanding demand of microinsurance products.