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The Time is Now: How to Build an Inclusive Financial System For All
As global finance leaders gather for this year’s World Bank and IMF meetings, they're meeting against a backdrop of existential crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and widening inequalities. Dan Barker at Mastercard's Center for Inclusive Growth and Mackenzie Wallace at the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program explore why these crises raise the need – and the opportunity – to build an inclusive financial system for all. They share four principles to guide this process, and discuss the crucial roles policymakers, financial services providers, academia, community groups and NGOs can play.
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- Finance
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Press Release: DFC Promotes Gender Equity in Financing Across India With $50 Million Investment
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) today announced the second disbursement of a $50 million loan to Northern Arc Capital to expand access to loans in several priority sectors across India.
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- Asia Pacific
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2020 MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTICLE CANDIDATE: Liquidity Before Solvency: A Guide for Microfinance Investors in the Time of COVID-19
Among microfinance investors, there's growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will push providers toward insolvency, with fewer loans and shrinking portfolios leading MFIs to default on their debt. But Daniel Rozas at e-MFP argues that in a crisis, preserving MFIs’ liquidity must take precedence over maintaining their solvency. To that end, he urges investors to commit to a six-month moratorium on debt repayments from MFIs.
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- Coronavirus, Finance
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When Inclusion is Not Inclusive: What Needs to Change to Achieve Meaningful Financial Inclusion for Women
India has achieved impressive growth in women's financial inclusion — recent statistics show that 79% of the country's women are financially included. But according to analysts at MSC, there are troubling questions about whether these women are truly benefiting from their newfound financial access. They discuss why financial inclusion often fails to impact female customers, and how viewing financial services for women through the lens of gender centrality could help.
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- Finance
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Catalyst Fund, Mastercard Foundation, MEST Launch $4.3 Million Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator in Ghana
Catalyst Fund has partnered the Mastercard Foundation and MEST to launch its Inclusive Digital Accelerator programme in Ghana, the first expansion of its flagship inclusive fintech programme.
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- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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From Financial Inclusion To Inclusive Finance: The Power of Frameworks To Catalyse Change
In this age of information, we increasingly rely on data to inform our decisions. But as Amrik Heyer at FSD Kenya points out, the utility of data for guiding policy and investment depends on the paradigms and frameworks which influence our thinking. She discusses the power of frameworks in shaping research and informing financial inclusion policy and investment, using the example of the FinAccess survey in Kenya.
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- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Financing “Missing Middle” Enterprises in the Age of COVID-19: Leveraging Nontraditional Finance Pathways in Emerging Markets
COVID-19 has made access to capital for small and growing businesses in emerging markets more essential than ever. But according to Julia Kho at Triple Jump and Kusi Hornberger at Dalberg Advisors, these businesses have very different crisis-related financing needs. They explore how finance providers can understand these diverse needs and identify the best approaches to fill them.
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- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Investing
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The Case for Stakeholder Dividends: Why It’s Time for the Financial Sector to Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
While the financial devastation of COVID-19 may remind America's working families of the 2008 crisis, Peter Tufano and Timothy Flacke at Commonwealth argue that this time, banks can be the heroes rather than the villains. They explain why this will require banks to make a pivotal choice between enriching their shareholders and supporting their stakeholders – including the country's most vulnerable customers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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