Alongside investment in digital public infrastructure, and ongoing efforts to reach the 1.4 billion people globally who still do not have access to a basic transaction account, open finance can be the next frontier for the growth of the financial services industry. 

In this episode, two farmers in Bangladesh share their experience in fighting to protect their homes and livelihoods from storms, flooding, and rising sea levels. The podcast also features MicroSave Consulting and CGAP discussing the potential role financial tools can play in bringing hope, resilience, and lasting change to climate-vulnerable communities.

Given that Afghanistan’s hawala (or money transfer) system is a critical component of the country’s financial ecosystem, this paper argues that this system—which is open to formalization—should be considered a foundational and enduring part of the financial sector. 

Open finance frameworks have the potential to increase innovation, boost competition, empower customers, and deepen financial inclusion. However, they also introduce new risks that necessitate careful design and robust safeguards. As more countries explore or implement these frameworks, this research offer key considerations for designing effective and inclusive open finance frameworks.

Inclusive carbon markets can play a role in financing a just, green transition. This study highlights the challenges to and opportunities for developing inclusive carbon markets, emphasizing the potential for financial services to both overcome barriers to inclusion and drive impact at scale.

This case study explores how Global Partnerships integrates outcomes data into investment decisions, highlighting key enablers for success, including leadership support, impact-driven strategy, and collaborative partnerships with financial service providers.

Impact investors are shifting towards outcomes-focused impact measurement and management (IMM) to enhance transparency and mitigate risks. This approach prioritizes measuring actual development and intermediate outcomes, like women's economic empowerment, and integrates this data into decision-making. The paper outlines key enablers to advance outcomes-focused IMM within financial inclusion investments.

This gender conceptual framework aims to offer a new vision of women's financial inclusion through a whole-of-market approach, requiring commitment from both sectors to drive impactful change.

This paper presents lessons learned from initiatives that aim to increase financial inclusion among low-income young women, ages 15–24, in low- and middle-income countries.

This focus note features a range of case studies based on CGAP's research and highlights the potential and actual impacts of microenterprise fintech models.