Research & Analysis

Funding Explorer: Interactive Data for the 2022 CGAP Funder Survey

The Funding Explorer is a set of seven interactive dashboards reflecting active international financial inclusion funding commitments as of December 31, 2022. The Explorer uses data from the 2022 CGAP Funder Survey complemented by publicly available contextual indicators.  

Gender-Intentional Credit Scoring

Evidence shows women often demonstrate higher loan repayment rates than men, suggesting they are lower-risk borrowers yet face higher barriers to loan approval. This guide introduces a gender-lens analytical framework for lenders to determine whether lending decisions and outcomes in their portfolios differ by gender and, if so, how.

Supply-Side Gender Disaggregated Data for Advancing Financial Inclusion: Insights and Areas for Further Research

Gender data is key for unlocking the potential of financial inclusion. This report explores the ways supply-side gender-disaggregated data (S-GDD) is being used to inform financial policies and strategies that seek to intentionally apply a gender lens.

Investor Roadmap for Inclusive Green Growth

This collaborative report by LeapFrog Investments, Temasek and CGAP shares new research that highlights the commercial impetus to accelerate a wave of green investment into emerging markets.

Climate Adaptation, Resilience, and Financial Inclusion: A New Agenda

In this Focus Note, CGAP calls for financial inclusion to be a cornerstone of action on climate adaptation, and proposes a new agenda for collaboration between financial inclusion and climate adaptation practitioners.

Building Value in Microfinance Through Digitization: Lessons from Loan Automation Pilots

Digitization has brought both hope and frustration to the microfinance industry. To address this, we identified and tested five core principles for successful implementation. This focus note summarizes our experience, evaluates the validity of the five principles, and offers key lessons learned for other industry stakeholders to adopt and scale a similar approach.

Building Value in Microfinance Through Digitization: A Role for Funders

This note highlights the importance of funders in supporting the digital transformation of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The focus is on business intelligence and credit renewal automation to increase the success rate of MFI digitization. Funders play a crucial role in ensuring that MFIs continue to serve the most excluded and underserved customers in the future.

The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Young Women’s Well-being: A Survey of Evidence and Recommendations for Practitioners

Young women face many gender-based barriers as they navigate major life transitions, with life-long effects. A new CGAP Working Paper finds that in addition to improving financial skills and savings levels, financial inclusion initiatives may also improve health and livelihood outcomes when combined with other interventions.

A Technical Guide to Unlock Agent Networks at the Last Mile

This guide outlines five key actions for DFS providers, regulators, and funders to expand rural CICO agent networks based on CGAP's global experience. These actions include building a vision for rural expansion, optimizing investment strategies for rural agents, and capturing the potential of women agents. 

Women Agents for Financial Inclusion: Exploring the Benefits, Constraints, and Potential Solutions

This working paper explores the benefits of having more women agents, the challenges they face, and potential solutions to promote their participation. It highlights that engaging women agents does not compromise performance and offers collaborative solutions for stakeholders to remove barriers and unlock the full potential of women in the DFS ecosystem.