CGAP

01/30/2026

Digitization is reshaping how banks assess risk, and it could unlock finance for millions of small businesses long excluded from the formal economy.

We explore how digital innovation can help shift collateral-based lending toward more inclusive, data-driven models.

By investing in digital public infrastructure, consumer protection, and gender disaggregated data, we can build a financial system that works for everyone.

01/28/2026

How can inclusive finance unlock value for rural women in agriculture while building climate resilience?

The latest publication from the first cohort of ABERA (Accelerating Business to Empower Rural women in Agriculture), a CGAP and IDH collaboration, presents initial analyses with five participating companies, highlighting how commercially viable innovations in inclusive finance can boost climate resilience for companies and the rural women they serve.

If you're working on climate resilience, gender inclusion, or rural finance, this publication offers actionable insights you can apply in your own context.

Read more: https://cgap.pub/4rkVgoT

01/27/2026

Across rural trading centers and small market stalls in sub-Saharan Africa, (DMP) are growing steadily — but the economics behind them remain stubbornly fragile.

Payment service providers know that micro-merchants are essential to achieving scale, yet they also confront the hard math: servicing these merchants costs far more than the revenues they generate.

As regulators push for lower fees to protect small businesses and goals expand, the central question becomes unavoidable: how can providers build sustainable models that make digital acceptance viable where margins are thinnest?

Dig into the question in our latest blog:
https://cgap.pub/4rnKvlL

01/22/2026

In Colombia’s Sur del Meta region, a new project by Karbon-X is protecting 42,000 hectares of forest. But to make a real impact, income from isn't enough—farmers need a way to manage their earnings and invest in more sustainable livelihoods.

In a new blog post, we share what we learned about demand for in Sur del Meta, and how Bancamía, Karbon-X and CGAP are leveraging these insights to help stop deforestation and drive impact for communities in .

Read the blog here: https://cgap.pub/4bJvG8b

01/21/2026

How does CGAP’s work translate into real impact for people living in poverty?

We generate innovative knowledge at the frontier of financial inclusion. We equip policymakers, regulators, financial service providers, funders, and more with insights they need to design policies, strategies, and services that deliver greater impact for the most vulnerable.

Watch the video to see how our knowledge helps build more resilient and inclusive financial systems 👇

01/20/2026

What if digital assets could expand financial access for billions of underserved people? Tokenization may do exactly that.

CGAP experts break down what tokenization means and why it matters for inclusive finance. From stablecoins enabling faster, cheaper cross-border payments to tokenized assets expanding access to productive credit, this technology is creating new pathways for people traditionally excluded from formal finance.

This is the conversation policymakers, financial providers, and development funders need to be part of as we shape the next frontier of inclusive finance.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0GQJ4Ncf_8

What is tokenization and why does it matter for financial inclusion? CGAP experts Ivo Jenik and Sonia Arenaza explain how blockchain tokenization is transfor...

01/19/2026

matters - for people's lives and the economy. alone is not enough.

Read more in our latest blog: https://cgap.pub/3ZgPKHH

01/15/2026

Do internal policies actually translate into good customer outcomes?

New evidence from in Bangladesh and the Philippines suggests that simplicity in product design and trusted human touchpoints are critical drivers of positive customer experiences—often more so than formal complaint channels.

The findings underscore the importance of shifting from procedural compliance toward customer outcomes, and of using mixed quantitative and qualitative tools to understand how customers actually experience financial services.

Read more in our latest blog: https://cgap.pub/4bwCp5k

01/14/2026

When systemic crises hit, the most vulnerable households and small businesses often lose access to finance just when they need it most.

CGAP asked a critical question: can crisis response protect financial stability without sacrificing inclusion?

Our new analysis across 58 countries shows that it can. With intentional design, crisis tools can support the vulnerable, expand access, and prevent setbacks in financial inclusion.

Explore further insights here: https://cgap.pub/3LpJslU.

01/13/2026

CGAP’s latest work highlights five elements that help financial sector authorities harness innovation with purpose. These elements, from vision and leadership to industry engagement and organizational culture, are what allow regulators to steer innovation toward inclusive outcomes.

When these elements reinforce each other, they create what we call vision-guided regulation, helping financial systems innovate while keeping people at the center.

As new technologies are reshaping financial systems faster than ever, regulators and policymakers must ensure that innovation transforms finance in ways that expand inclusion and protect consumers.

How? Read our new research to learn more: https://cgap.pub/4pUgREk

01/07/2026

In our new video series, Behind the Research, we hear from CGAP experts about the work and insights driving financial inclusion forward. Today, we hear from Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy on why competition matters for financial inclusion.

Despite remarkable progress in financial access over the last 15 years, many financial markets worldwide are not truly competitive—and that limits the value people and small businesses actually derive from financial services.

Competition and innovation are two sides of the same coin. While the financial inclusion community has engaged extensively on innovation, very little attention has been paid to competition.

Sai's message to financial authorities is clear: competition is a powerful driver of financial inclusion, and they already have the tools to promote it without undermining stability, integrity, or consumer protection. The key is applying a competition lens to the work already underway.

When markets are open and contestable, they deliver true choice and value to people and small businesses and ensure that finance truly works for them.

Watch the video below to learn more 👇

In the first episode of our new series, "Behind the Research," CGAP's Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy discusses why competition is essential for financial inclusion—...

01/05/2026

Financial service providers (FSPs) and funders have compelling reasons to ensure young women’s financial inclusion, and distinct roles to play. In addition to the wider social and economic benefits of their empowerment, young women can also be important new long-term customers for financial institutions, and a strong test case to refine strategies for outreach to broader low-income segments.

CGAP’s new Focus Note presents 3 key opportunities for FSPs and funders to meet the real financial needs of young women aged 15-24:

➡ Broaden alternative on-ramps into the financial system
➡ Prioritize savings over credit
➡ Protect financial progress with better health and life insurance

Learn more about how FSPs can realize these opportunities and how funders can ensure that market incentives align to support them: https://cgap.pub/4sbLpTv