Research & Analysis

Getting Smart about Financial Inclusion

This Focus Notes discusses lessons learned through the implementation of the SmartAid Index--a tool launched by CGAP in 2007 to measure and improve the effectiveness of funders in supporting financial inclusion.

How Effective Are You in Advancing Financial Inclusion?

The SmartAid Index measures whether funders are set up to support financial inclusion effectively. It is based on the simple premise that strong internal management systems lead to better projects on the ground.

What Human-Centered Design Means for Financial Inclusion

CGAP has conducted eight human-centered design projects in seven countries. The lessons from these projects highlight both the challenges ahead and a possible way forward when it comes to integrating mobile money into the lives of the poor.

Financial Inclusion in Russia: The Demand-Side Perspective

This report follows up on a 2012 CGAP Financial Inclusion Landscaping study in Russia on the need for comprehensive and detailed data on financial inclusion—and exclusion—in Russia.

Facilitating the Market for Capacity Building Services

This Focus Note addresses the question: what does it take to facilitate a sustainable, commercially viable market for capacity building services delivered to financial service providers?

AML/CFT and Financial Inclusion

This Focus Note provides an overview of recent relevant FATF standards and guidance, highlighting opportunities for financial inclusion-friendly policymaking to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.

From Extreme Poverty to Sustainable Livelihoods

This Technical Guide serves as a how-to manual for others seeking to implement the model piloted by the CGAP-Ford Foundation Graduation Program.

Informed Consent: How Do We Make It Work for Mobile Credit Scoring

This report explores what consumers understand about their mobile data, and how it is being used by financial service providers and what methods for informed consent might help ensure that individual borrowers understand how their information is used.

Access to Energy via Digital Finance: Models for Innovation

Globally, over 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, and another 1 billion people have unreliable connections to national electricity grids. Startup energy enterprises are leveraging digital finance to deliver modern energy to the poor, sold on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Digital Finance: Enabling Energy Access for the Poor

There are a number of startups now offering pay-as-you-go finance solutions that enable people at the base of the economic pyramid to access home solar units.