Recent Blogs

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Financial Services Amid Crisis: Resilience and Reconstruction in Gaza and West Bank

FSPs in the West Bank & Gaza face unprecedented challenges amid the ongoing crisis, with Gaza's situation changing daily. Eventual stability will bring a flow of aid, making it crucial to support & rebuild the financial sector for future development.
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Seven Insights From Samunnati on Income Diversification

In collaboration with CGAP and IDH under ABERA, Samunnati drives business innovation and gender and climate goals. Together, they've identified seven insights on income diversification for women in India, detailed in this blog.
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Driving Change: Hello Tractor and ABERA

CGAP, IDH, FSD Network & FSD Kenya are working with Hello Tractor as part of ABERA, which empowers rural women in agriculture. We aim to address gender and climate challenges while strengthening Hello Tractor's business and financial service links.
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Financial Inclusion 2.0: Embracing a New Outcome Agenda

Financial inclusion has a key role to play as an enabler for development outcomes and as a foundational element to improve livelihoods and build resilience in an ever more vulnerable and turbulent world.
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Resilience at All Levels: From Macro-Insurance Solutions to Micro

Unless we can ensure low-income and financially excluded populations have access to insurance to help them build resilience directly at the micro-level, other efforts will be in vain.
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Navigating Compound Crises: Microfinance Learnings From Lebanon

Lebanon has faced a recent string of compounding crises, crippling GDP and decimating the Lebanese currency. Al Majmoua MFI survived the freefall and offers valuable insights into the diversity of measures that can be taken in the face of crisis.
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Are Climate-Related Financial Sector Policies Inclusive for All?

Climate-driven financial policies could inadvertently end up undermining financial inclusion efforts. Authorities and funders must understand the pathways through which risks could occur and the opportunities for supporting green finance effectively.
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Financial Inclusion and Stability: A Balancing Act

Understanding the relationship between financial inclusion and stability is imperative for policymakers to advance both these goals and respond to shocks that threaten financial stability in ways that protect inclusion.
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How Do Financial Systems Support Climate Resilience?

The third in our three-part blog series with Decodis and MSC discusses our finding that different climate events, and different phases of those events, drive different needs for financial services.
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Adapting to or Just Muddling Through Climate Change?

The second blog in our series with Decodis and MSC explores our research finding that many poor households are just muddling through climate events rather than strategically adapting to long-term climate change in ways that enhance their resilience.
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How Can Insurance Help Build a Green, Resilient & Inclusive Future?

To ensure those living in poverty benefit from emerging models in insurance, we need to focus beyond traditional risk transfer and look at broader risk management. This blog outlines three priorities for driving systems change in inclusive insurance.
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Facing Climate Events in Nigeria, Farmers Left With Scarce Options

Based on interviews with hundreds of farmers in Nigeria, we unpack how households use financial services in responding to climate events.
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What Does Financial Inclusion Mean for Young Women’s Well-being?

Well-implemented financial inclusion (FI) initiatives for various sub-segments of young women can produce positive financial and non-financial outcomes. Current research shows plural programs with FI components can benefit marginalized young women.
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Climate Resilience Through Financial Services: Farzana’s Story

Women, especially those in low-income countries, are faced with higher risk, greater vulnerability, and fewer tools to cope with the impacts of climate change. Financial services can empower women to manage climate risks and build resilience.
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Let’s Talk About Resilience

While the need to expand opportunity for the poor has historically animated the financial inclusion community, it is high time we recognize the equally critical role of resilience building and expend similar effort in service of that goal.