Research & Analysis

Electric Bankers: Utility-Enabled Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Without appliances, people cannot make use of electricity. But how can low-income households afford costly electrical appliances? One answer is for utilities to offer consumer financing.

Platform Business Models

Most “unicorn” companies are platforms. But what exactly are platforms? What are the main business models? Are to what extent are they relevant to financial inclusion for low-income customers? Explore the answers in this slide deck.

Innovations in Asset Finance

With the SDGs facing an estimated annual investment gap of $2.5 trillion, innovations in asset financing offer a more sustainable alternative to transfers, with the potential to drive asset ownership at scale.

Technology Building Blocks for an Open API Strategy

This slide deck is designed to help business leaders who are not IT specialists learn how to make informed decisions about the technologies supporting their open APIs.

Humanitarian Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion

This Working Paper presents the cases of Jordan and Lebanon in leveraging aid delivery and highlights some of the key challenges these actors face in linking cash transfers to financial inclusion more broadly.

Assets Matter to Poor People

CGAP has undertaken a comprehensive review of the available evidence to understand (i) how asset ownership can lead to improvements in well-being for poor households and (ii) whether obtaining an asset through a loan or lease as opposed to a transfer, grant, or outright purchase affects the benefits associated with ownership.

Digital Banks: How Can They Deepen Financial Inclusion?

This slide deck sheds light on the digitization of banking and analyzes the connection of three new business models to financial inclusion: fully digital retail banks, marketplace banks and banking-as-a-service.

The Use of Agents by Digital Financial Services Providers

Agents play a crucial role in lowering the cost of delivery to reach the unbanked and underbanked population. An increasing number of countries, especially emerging markets and developing economies, allow a diverse array of banks and nonbank institutions to distribute digital financial services through agents.

Making Data Work for the Poor

The consumer consent model for data privacy and protection is broken. It’s time for a new data paradigm whereby financial services providers and data collectors take greater responsibility for protecting customers’ data.

I Do Not Accept These Terms & Conditions

CGAP's privacy and consumer financial services expert David Medine discusses the risks that millions of low-income consumers face in developing countries as they start using digital financial services