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.

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Photo credit: GIZ / Paul Hageman
Blog

Can Mobile Wallets Increase Access to Remittances and Other Financial Services?

Home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, Jordan hosts the second highest ratio of refugees in the world - 89 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants. In this blog post, Amarante Consulting shares what they learned from evaluating the Dig#ttances project, which explored digital solutions for refugees and the unbanked in Jordan.
By Sahana Arun Kumar
June 2019
2018 AFIIP Finalists and Judges at the Sanabel Conference. Photo credit: Arabic FinDev Gateway
Blog

Who Is Innovating in the Arab World?

Meet the eight finalists of the inaugural edition of the Arab Financial Inclusion Innovation Prize, presented at the Sanabel Conference in Amman, Jordan.
By Miranda Beshara
December 2018
Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Photo credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Blog
FROM
Getting Inclusion Right: FIW 2018

Getting It Right: Providing Financial Services to Refugees

Drawing on the findings from recently released market studies in Jordan and Uganda, here are the top five recommendations for financial service providers (FSPs) willing to contribute to the financial inclusion of refugees.
By Micol Pistelli & Philippe Guichandut
October 2018
Engraving on copper. From the 2018 IFC report, Transforming Microfinance Institutions in the Arab World.
Blog

Why Have MFIs in the Arab World Been Reluctant to Transform?

Some say regulatory issues, others cite fear of mission drift. But all of these can be overcome.
By Karen Beshay
October 2018
Yamama Kenawy
Interview

Meet the New Executive Director of Sanabel, the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries

Interview with Yamama Kenawy on her new role and what to expect from this year’s annual conference.
By FinDev Gateway
October 2018
Carpenter in his workshop, Iran. Photo credit: Farnaz Damnabi, 2017 CGAP Photo Contest.
Interview

All You Need Is … Innovation!

In this Gateway interview, Reda Maamari discusses a new regional award which aims to spur innovation for greater financial inclusion in the Arab World, sharing how the Arab Financial Inclusion Innovation Prize (AFIIP) came about, and what it hopes to achieve.
By FinDev Gateway
July 2018