Blog

The FinDev Gateway Blog features interviews and blog posts from financial inclusion practitioners around the world. In this community space, we share lessons learned, new ideas, and upcoming research from the field.

Can You Use Digital Finance If You Can’t Read?

By Nicole Mills, The BOMA Project
August 2019
Rose Lelesiit (left) talking to her BOMA Village Mentor Sarah Sein Lanyasunya, in Maralal, Kenya at a meeting of Rose’s Savings Group. Photo credit: Jane Klonsky for the BOMA Project.

Access to a mobile phone is not enough. The BOMA Project works to overcome illiteracy and innumeracy to bring digital financial services to women living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

Market in Bangladesh. Photo by Bir Azam, 2013 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Gateway Guide to Upcoming Financial Inclusion Events

September is on the horizon, and with that the return of conference and training season as we finish out the year. In this guide, we compile a list of key upcoming events that could help you connect with others in your field and contribute to your professional development.
By Abby Augusta
August 2019
Gathering water, Vietnam. Photo by Thang Nguyen Duc, 2015 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Gateway Guide to Pay-As-You-Go Financing for Basic Services

Learn more about this innovative business model which is helping more low-income customers access essential services such as electricity, water and cooking fuel. Explore FinDev Gateway's latest publications, webinars and blog posts on PAYGo financing.
By Abby Augusta
July 2019

MOST READ

Father and son, Vietnam. Photo by Minh Quoc Le, 2014 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Microfinance in the Digital World: Seven Questions for the Future

Will fintechs take over microfinance? Can traditional microfinance lenders survive? How? Elisabeth Rhyne of the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion answers these and other burning questions.
By Elisabeth Rhyne
May 2019
Photo credit: The Global LPG Partnership
Blog

Making Clean Cooking Affordable

Following the FinDev Gateway webinar on financing for clean cooking, GLPGP discusses how innovative consumer finance approaches can help facilitate access to clean cooking in developing countries.
By Meixi Gan & Richenda Van Leeuwen
March 2019
Woman at microfinance group meeting in rural Orissa, India. Photo by Souradeep Ghosh, 2016 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Want To Stay in Business? Keep Your Loan Officers Happy

Loan officers are in a critical position to influence clients’ experience with access to credit and their engagement with an MFI. Yet they are often under intense pressure to meet targets, and many do not receive the support they need to do their job well. Here are six steps for improving working conditions for microfinance field staff.
By Nupur Maroti
March 2019
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Rose Lelesiit (left) talking to her BOMA Village Mentor Sarah Sein Lanyasunya, in Maralal, Kenya at a meeting of Rose’s Savings Group. Photo credit: Jane Klonsky for the BOMA Project.
Blog

Can You Use Digital Finance If You Can’t Read?

Access to a mobile phone is not enough. The BOMA Project works to overcome illiteracy and innumeracy to bring digital financial services to women living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
By Nicole Mills
August 2019
Market in Bangladesh. Photo by Bir Azam, 2013 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Gateway Guide to Upcoming Financial Inclusion Events

September is on the horizon, and with that the return of conference and training season as we finish out the year. In this guide, we compile a list of key upcoming events that could help you connect with others in your field and contribute to your professional development.
By Abby Augusta
August 2019
Gathering water, Vietnam. Photo by Thang Nguyen Duc, 2015 CGAP Photo Contest.
Blog

Gateway Guide to Pay-As-You-Go Financing for Basic Services

Learn more about this innovative business model which is helping more low-income customers access essential services such as electricity, water and cooking fuel. Explore FinDev Gateway's latest publications, webinars and blog posts on PAYGo financing.
By Abby Augusta
July 2019
Gathering water in the Philippines. Photo credit: Water.org
Blog

Productive Versus Consumption Loans: A Distinction That Hurts Rather Than Helps

Water.org explains why water and sanitation loans have high repayment rates and should be prioritized by MFIs, and makes a call to all microfinance professionals to reject the misguided labeling of loans as either productive or for consumption only.
By Lesley Pories
July 2019
Digital financial services client. Photo credit: Accion
Blog

Consumer Protection in a Digital Age

The Smart Campaign's new standards and guidance for digital finance mark a profound shift for the sector - from a previous focus on staff behavior towards clients, to the increasing importance of product design and delivery, as well as data protection.
By Elisabeth Rhyne
July 2019
Woman sorting tomatoes for her customer at the marketplace. Photo credit: VisionFund International 2019.
Blog

Are Refugees Too Risky for Financial Inclusion?

Large numbers of vulnerable communities continue to flee their home countries due to war and conflict. Settling in refugee camps, they are perceived by many financial institutions as too risky to serve. VisionFund International explores the opportunities and challenges in serving refugee communities in West Nile, Uganda.
By Martina Crailsheim
June 2019