Resilience for All: Why Inclusive Finance Can't Wait

The world faces urgent challenges as risks intensify and interconnect, amplifying vulnerabilities, especially for low-income populations and small and medium enterprises (MSEs). If left unaddressed, these vulnerabilities can create ripple effects that have national, regional, and global consequences. 

This paper outlines why inclusive finance is an indispensable component of effective societal resilience:  

• Inclusive financial services—savings, credit, insurance, and digital payments—allow low-income people and MSEs to anticipate, adapt, cope with, and recover from adversity, whilst building long-term adaptive capacity in response to stresses and uncertainty.
• Leveraging inclusive finance boosts the effectiveness of national resilience policies and programs by ensuring resources reach those in need quickly, safely and at scale. By empowering people to build their own resilience, inclusive finance eases the strain on government resources.
• Integrating inclusive finance into resilience-building efforts can create more inclusive, adaptive, scalable, and sustainable solutions that align with broader development goals.

The paper calls on funders, policymakers, financial institutions, and other development stakeholders to leverage inclusive finance to enhance the reach, speed, and impact of their work.