Photo: Patrick Baz
Making financial services meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable
People living in poverty constantly juggle an evolving set of risks and crises in their daily lives. Climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing food crisis, among others, have increased these risks substantially, contributing to a rise in global poverty and inequality. Meanwhile, a third of the world’s adult population lacks the financial services they could use to significantly improve their lives. CGAP is working to change this, and we believe that positive trends in inclusive finance offer hope for a green, resilient, and inclusive future.
Inclusive credit is one of the most celebrated and contested tools in development. This Focus Note reframes that debate. Rather than asking whether credit works, it asks: for which borrowers, through what product designs, and under what conditions does inclusive credit generate meaningful benefit rather than harm?
This paper presents a policy roadmap that outlines six key priorities for financial sector authorities, including leveling the playing field for diverse players, making payments systems fit for purpose, expanding open finance frameworks to open data, establishing an approach for inclusive AI, creating a framework for responsible use of tokenization, and building adaptive and innovation-ready ecosystems.
Open finance offers great potential but requires effective oversight due to its fast-moving data. Traditional reports are too slow; FSAs need high-frequency data and advanced technology to spot issues early, protect trust, and ensure inclusion.
Despite rapid advances in AI capabilities, the underlying data foundations have not kept pace. AI adoption is fundamentally constrained by the strength, inclusiveness, and usability of underlying data – not as much by the sophistication of algorithms.
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Despite the growing body of evidence, significant gaps remain in understanding why financial services drive positive change and impact in some scenarios but not others. Financial Inclusion 2.0 aims to bridge these gaps.
A2ii is a global partnership that works with insurance supervisors to promote inclusive and responsible insurance, thereby reducing vulnerability. As of July 2025, CGAP convenes A2ii in close coordination with IAIS.
MSEs have diverse financial needs, even when considering size alone. However, when gender is factored in, this complexity only deepens.
