Blog

Six To-Dos Now for Responsible Investors

At the mid-year Social Investor Roundtable, the Sangam Group (CEOs of the 10 largest MIVs) and annual Development Finance Institutions (DFI) consultation on responsible finance agreed on a “to-do” list of six concrete actions for investors.

Financial Inclusion In 2012: South Asian Highlights

Recent trends in South Asia reveal measured growth for microfinance, and a steady increase in branchless banking networks, across the region.

Financial Inclusion: Running The Last Mile

For usage of financial accounts to improve to a level where benefits are generated beyond the account, a focus on the “last mile” becomes critical – addressing real user needs by aligning product design, distribution, business models and financial education.

Reducing Cash Turnover: Challenges In Russia

Despite the government's efforts to introduce cards and reduce cash turnover, Russians are not using cards for financial transactions. Find out why.

Financial Inclusion and Innovation in Russian Payment Systems

The payments sector in Russia has over recent years been at the forefront of innovation. The hope is that new developments will lead to an easily accessible and interoperable payment system that combines the advantages of various channels.

How Much do Financial Inclusion Indicators Say about Russia?

Despite significant progress, access to financial services is still a huge challenge in remote areas of Russia.

Mobile Money Agents in Tanzania: How Busy, How Exclusive?

The Financial Sector Deepening Trust of Tanzania (FSDT) undertook a census of cash outlets in the country, and discovered that half of all agents do more than 30 transactions per month and nearly two-thirds of agents are exclusive to M-PESA.

Towards A Common Performance Measure In Branchless Banking

How can we build a framework for a data architecture on the branchless banking industry?

Tracking The Progress Of The Mobile Money Industry

The GSMA Mobile Money for the Unbanked programme (MMU) has been following the growth of the industry for the past few years using its Deployment Tracker which monitors the number of live and planned mobile money services for the unbanked.

Savings in Afghanistan: Gold, Grain, Goats...and Banks?

A small team from frog, a design and innovation consultancy, traveled to Afghanistan in 2012 to research attitudes and practices towards savings in Afghanistan. Through fifteen in-depth interviews, the team discovered that access and liquidity are key factors of Afghan financial products.

Mobile Money Adopters – Who Are They And What Can They Teach Us?

Individuals who are connected to mobile money users through social networks are more likely to adopt mobile money than those with no social mobile money connections.

Will This Bank Run Away? Women And Mobile Banking In Bihar, India

A recently released women and mobile banking report by GSMA and Visa Inc resonates with the conversations the author has with women in rural Bihar, in some of the poorest parts of India.

Why Go Mobile in Rural Communities?

Going mobile in a rural community is more than enabling remote communities to receive payments.

A New Framework For Digital Money Innovation

A new "Digital Money Innovation Framework" helps us organize our research and ideas in accordance with some of the biggest barriers we see in digitizing financial services for low-income populations.

East And Southern Africa: A Region On The Move

In 2012, the region has made strides in financial inclusion through innovative products such as M-Shwari, as well as creative financial sector regulation and policy.

How Evidence Is Helping Reframe Our Perspective On Microfinance

Broader and deeper financial inclusion means that households have more financial management options. How does a household benefit from having more options?

Where’s The Cash? The Geography Of Cash Points In Tanzania

Places where one can exchange cash for transferable or storable electronic value is an essential component of financial access. Given the paucity of financial infrastructure in Tanzania, we wanted to know how deeply mobile money agents have penetrated rural areas.

How Are Public Investors And Donors FillingThe SME Financing Gap?

Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) are significant contributors to SME funding worldwide. What they fund, and how they make investment decisions impact larger trends on SME growth globally.

Microfinance in the ECA Region: Need to Sharpen Definitions?

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region a deep and growing divide between commercial, high-interest consumer finance and traditional social purpose microlending is emerging, and the confusion of the two in the eyes of the public.

Sustainable Capacity Building Services Market: A Long Way To Go

Despite years of donor programs that have had an explicit goal of helping build the market for capacity building, the market—where it exists—is highly subsidized with few viable providers able to adapt to an evolving landscape. Can we change this?