It is a staggering fact that there are still 1.4 billion people in the world without a financial account, let alone access to other financial services. Many of the financially excluded are women, people in rural and agricultural areas who are vulnerable to climate change disasters and people living in fragile conditions and subject to displacement.
Responsible financial services can be transformative for people and businesses by contributing to income generation and prosperity, protection against inflation and food insecurity, access to green solutions, and resilience to shocks—including adaptation to climate change.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is a global partnership of over thirty leading development institutions, housed at the World Bank. It, works to advance the lives of poor, vulnerable and underserved people, especially women, through
inclusive finance.
"We see growing interest across the board in inclusive finance," says Sophie Sirtaine, CEO of CGAP. "In many countries in which we work, be that fragile states or poor countries, we see young entrepreneurs investing in fintechs or trying to find innovative solutions to increasing financial inclusivity."
"We see governments taking concrete steps to create an enabling environment for those entrepreneurs and new solutions to flourish. We see them putting in open interoperable payments systems and open data systems so data can be shared to create credit history for new clients."
At the same time, according to Sirtaine, the private sector is witnessing a paradigm shift by focusing both on financial results and social impact.
The progress already being made is encouraging. The Global Findex, the prominent source of data for financial inclusion, showed that between 2017 and 2021, the number of people who have access to a financial account grew from 63% to 71% in developing countries. That represents progress at scale and demonstrates a pathway to progress through digital services.
However, the mission is far from complete. In the face of challenging macro-level conditions, there has never been a more critical time to build a greener, more inclusive and resilient world to ensure that financial services can help the poor and other vulnerable segments prepare for, withstand, and recover from shocks and stresses. Those priorities are especially important for women, who continue to be disproportionately excluded from socioeconomic opportunities and disproportionately exposed to shocks.
“In fact, there are three objectives: scaling up what we’ve learned, working on solutions to reach the financially excluded, and building financial products that address the most pressing global challenges including climate change,” concluded Sirtaine.
It is a staggering fact that there are still 1.4 billion people in the world without a financial account, let alone access to other financial services. Many of the financially excluded are women, people in rural and agricultural areas who are vulnerable to climate change disasters and people living in fragile conditions and subject to displacement.
Responsible financial services can be transformative for people and businesses by contributing to income generation and prosperity, protection against inflation and food insecurity, access to green solutions, and resilience to shocks—including adaptation to climate change.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is a global partnership of over thirty leading development institutions, housed at the World Bank. It, works to advance the lives of poor, vulnerable and underserved people, especially women, through
inclusive finance.
"We see growing interest across the board in inclusive finance," says Sophie Sirtaine, CEO of CGAP. "In many countries in which we work, be that fragile states or poor countries, we see young entrepreneurs investing in fintechs or trying to find innovative solutions to increasing financial inclusivity."
"We see governments taking concrete steps to create an enabling environment for those entrepreneurs and new solutions to flourish. We see them putting in open interoperable payments systems and open data systems so data can be shared to create credit history for new clients."
At the same time, according to Sirtaine, the private sector is witnessing a paradigm shift by focusing both on financial results and social impact.
The progress already being made is encouraging. The Global Findex, the prominent source of data for financial inclusion, showed that between 2017 and 2021, the number of people who have access to a financial account grew from 63% to 71% in developing countries. That represents progress at scale and demonstrates a pathway to progress through digital services.
However, the mission is far from complete. In the face of challenging macro-level conditions, there has never been a more critical time to build a greener, more inclusive and resilient world to ensure that financial services can help the poor and other vulnerable segments prepare for, withstand, and recover from shocks and stresses. Those priorities are especially important for women, who continue to be disproportionately excluded from socioeconomic opportunities and disproportionately exposed to shocks.
“In fact, there are three objectives: scaling up what we’ve learned, working on solutions to reach the financially excluded, and building financial products that address the most pressing global challenges including climate change,” concluded Sirtaine.
It is a staggering fact that there are still 1.4 billion people in the world without a financial account, let alone access to other financial services. Many of the financially excluded are women, people in rural and agricultural areas who are vulnerable to climate change disasters and people living in fragile conditions and subject to displacement.
Responsible financial services can be transformative for people and businesses by contributing to income generation and prosperity, protection against inflation and food insecurity, access to green solutions, and resilience to shocks—including adaptation to climate change.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is a global partnership of over thirty leading development institutions, housed at the World Bank. It, works to advance the lives of poor, vulnerable and underserved people, especially women, through
inclusive finance.
"We see growing interest across the board in inclusive finance," says Sophie Sirtaine, CEO of CGAP. "In many countries in which we work, be that fragile states or poor countries, we see young entrepreneurs investing in fintechs or trying to find innovative solutions to increasing financial inclusivity."
"We see governments taking concrete steps to create an enabling environment for those entrepreneurs and new solutions to flourish. We see them putting in open interoperable payments systems and open data systems so data can be shared to create credit history for new clients."
At the same time, according to Sirtaine, the private sector is witnessing a paradigm shift by focusing both on financial results and social impact.
The progress already being made is encouraging. The Global Findex, the prominent source of data for financial inclusion, showed that between 2017 and 2021, the number of people who have access to a financial account grew from 63% to 71% in developing countries. That represents progress at scale and demonstrates a pathway to progress through digital services.
However, the mission is far from complete. In the face of challenging macro-level conditions, there has never been a more critical time to build a greener, more inclusive and resilient world to ensure that financial services can help the poor and other vulnerable segments prepare for, withstand, and recover from shocks and stresses. Those priorities are especially important for women, who continue to be disproportionately excluded from socioeconomic opportunities and disproportionately exposed to shocks.
“In fact, there are three objectives: scaling up what we’ve learned, working on solutions to reach the financially excluded, and building financial products that address the most pressing global challenges including climate change,” concluded Sirtaine.
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