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‘Deep Pockets’ vs. ‘Long Pockets’ in DPI: What Instant Payments and Open Finance Tell Us About Sustainable Funding for Digital Public Infrastructure
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is gaining traction in emerging markets around the world. But as David Porteous at Integral: Governance Solutions and Rafe Mazer at Fair Finance Consulting explain, while the financial cost of building DPI may be modest, operating it at scale requires ongoing costs to be allocated across the ecosystem over time, making DPI sustainability fundamentally a governance issue centered on pricing policies. They explore how two of the three broadly accepted categories of DPI, instant payment systems and open finance, can develop credible mechanisms to finance long-term costs — while maintaining incentives for participants and trust among users.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access
For millions of Peruvian families, one barrier stands between them and safe water and sanitation at home: access to affordable financing. Yet as Rocio Cavazos at Water.org explains, the financial institutions serving these communities face their own barrier: limited access to lower-cost capital. She discusses Water.org's efforts to support Peru’s two successful blue bond issuances, exploring how these bonds can allow lenders to offer more affordable loans for water and sanitation solutions — and sharing lessons from Peru's experience that can be applied by blue bonds in other markets.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing, WASH
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Mastercard and Banco Sol Strengthen Collaboration to Drive SME Growth in Angola
This collaboration strategically leverages Mastercard's dedication to fostering financial inclusion through innovative payment solutions and Banco Sol's commitment to strengthening small businesses in underserved communities.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Moving Forward in a Post-USAID World: Why Women Must Be at the Center of Financial Inclusion
The demise of USAID has profound implications for the movement toward gender equality in financial inclusion and other development priorities. According to Julia Arnold and Sara Seavey, consultants specializing in women’s financial inclusion, the agency played a central role in funding, researching and coordinating global gender equality work — and without that anchor, these efforts are at risk of fragmentation and regression. They argue that this moment places responsibility on the sector itself to preserve the values, evidence and accountability structures that made progress toward gender-inclusive finance possible.
- Categories
- Finance
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UBS Optimus Foundation and Co-Funders Commit USD $29 Million to Chancen International’s Future of Work Fund, Scaling Student Financing in Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa
To date, Chancen has funded over 9,000 students, and the Future of Work Fund will provide funding for a total of 15,000 young people – with the growing number of investors providing opportunities to help thousands more.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ebola and Hantavirus Have Africa Talking ‘Health Sovereignty’ as Donor Support Fades
African leaders for years had pledged to better finance their own health systems, but commitments remained on paper.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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British International Investment Partners with Ecobank DRC to Expand Sustainable Financing for SMEs in the DRC
The facility will target sectors critical to the country’s economic development, job creation and more resilient supply chains in the real economy, including agriculture and agro‑processing, industrial, infrastructure, climate‑aligned projects and renewable energy, as well as local entrepreneurship.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ecobank, Proparco Partner to Mobilise €300 Million for Agriculture, Women-Led Businesses in Africa
Under the arrangement, Proparco Groupe AFD will provide financial instruments, including partial portfolio guarantees, co-financing, and trade finance support, to help Ecobank Group increase lending to agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises across 33 African countries.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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