Recent Blogs
Blog
Ehrbeck on the Value of Financial Access for the Poor
With increasing amounts of private money being invested in microfinance institutions, CGAP CEO Tilman Ehrbeck talks about the role of public money in improving access to finance for poor people around the world.Blog
India’s Microfinance Bill and Financial Inclusion
The draft Microfinance Bill placed by the Ministry of Finance on its website on 6 July 2011 represents a major step forward in the government’s engagement with the microfinance sector.Blog
Financial Inclusion in the U.S.:Spending Time In Our Own Backyard
As we look globally for innovative business models and technologies, it’s a shame how little we (as two Americans) focus on our backyard in the U.S. Despite our comfort drawing similarities and lessons across markets as different as Brazil, India, and Kenya, we seem to assume that the U.S., with its technology and banking infrastructure, relative wealth, and uniquely complex regulatory context, is truly different. To test this and see what we might uncover “locally,” we attended the 6th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum in June to learn more about the state of the art in the domestic financial inclusion world and look for ways where global and local conversations overlap and can be integrated.Blog
So Where Are We in the Link Between G2P and Financial Services?
The link to financial inclusion is one that can often get forgotten in the quest for payment efficiency.Blog
Measuring Aid Effectiveness Effectively
It is hard to say whether aid has really helped to raise growth or reduce poverty or contribute to the Millennium Development Goals.Blog
State Bank of Pakistan Removes Barriers to Branchless Banking
In March 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan introduced some of the first regulations anywhere in the world designed specifically to encourage branchless banking. The regulations allowed a number of different business models and permitted agents to deliver financial services on behalf of banks.Blog
India’s Microfinance Bill Answers Most Questions
The bill is an important first step; several more steps in translating the bill to action are required before we reach a stage that restores the vitality of the sector.Blog
India Microfinance Bill – The Good and The Bad
India’s microfinance bill is a very positive development for the microfinance sector because it brings the sector into the ambit of organized financial services.Blog
The Cost-Benefit of Electronic Payment Systems: The Case of India
Electronic payments hold particular promise, and the key question is: What is the cost-benefit for a government to connect all households to an electronic payment system.Blog
How to Run With Mobile Money and Not Fall
In this post, Dalberg colleague, Matt Shakhovskoy, identifies some internal challenges at MNOs that prevent them from delivering success with mobile money.Blog
Islamic Microfinance Challenge: A Summary
A business model for Islamic microfinance: what does it need?Blog
The Last Frontier for Branchless Banking: State of Play in WAEMU
Access to finance in WAEMU is very low, even by comparison to other regions of Africa. The rate of bancarization announced by the BCEAO in December 2010 was 9.5% and 12.7% of the population had an account with an MFI.Blog
Improving Access to Finance
Within the field of financial sector development, microfinance components in multi-sector programs often perform poorly and in some cases undermined existing financial service providers.Blog
Looking For a “Killer App” For the Poor? Sell Stress Reduction
We need to start treating willpower as a scarce and important resource. That’s the point pushed in a recent New Republic piece on “What can’t more poor people escape poverty?” And it’s a product opportunity for those designing financial services for the poor.Blog
Can Collecting Savings in Rural Areas Be Profitable?
The importance and role of savings with respect to the economic and social development of developing countries and of African countries in particular have long been recognized.Blog
Branchless Banking in South Africa
South Africa has often been used as a case study by those with an interest in financial inclusion. The country has an advanced banking infrastructure with nearly 10,000 ATMs and over 100,000 POS devices deployed.Blog
Does Savings Help Protect MFIs from Political Interference?
Until recently, microfinance in India (really microcredit) had been driven by innovators and entrepreneurs, but also enabled by government policies such as of priority sector lending and regulatory restrictions prohibiting deposit mobilization for most MFIs.Blog
Does Branchless Banking Reach Poor People? The Evidence from Mali
This is the third posting in a mini-series in which we present new evidence from three countries on whether branchless banking is reaching poor people. This post looks at Orange Money in Mali. Previous posts looked at India and Pakistan.Blog
A Little Willpower Can Have a Big Impact
When Women’s World Banking (WWB) started our savings and financial education program for girls in 2008, we were excited about the potential to provide a sustainable, scalable way to encourage girls to build assets and become better money managers.Blog