Publications
Financial Education
Non Financial Services
Jan 27, 2022
As the world works towards food system transformation, the role of various stakeholders serving small farmers and agri-SMEs has gained increasing importance. The market of business development services (BDS) for agri-SMEs has grown significantly in the last decade, with more organizations providing technical, financial, and capacity-building...
Financial Inclusion
Data Analytics
Payments
Jan 27, 2022
Biometrics technology can enhance the convenience and security of digital payments, and many observers have pointed to the potential benefits of using it to advance financial inclusion. This paper analyses how, and under what conditions, biometrics can facilitate financial and digital inclusion for lower income and unbanked populations and...
Alternative Financing
Covid-19
Jan 26, 2022
This publication "Receivables Finance: The Voice of the Industry", prepared by member HDP Lendscape , one of the world’s leading software providers for Asset Based Finance (ABF), dives into the following challenges and opportunities on the minds of industry leaders: Pandemic recovery New lending propositions and the rise of independents The...
Covid-19
Jan 24, 2022
The current crisis has put a spotlight on workout frameworks, especially out-of-court or hybrid procedures, which can provide flexible and cost-effective solutions to address firms’ liquidity and solvency issues while reducing the burden on courts. Some countries implemented reforms to their corporate workout frameworks in the wake of the COVID-19...
Financial Inclusion
Policy & Regulation
Digital Transformation
Jan 20, 2022
This reading deck describes three regulatory approaches used by policy-makers to regulate digital banks. It has a focus on harnessing the potential of digital banks to bring welcome competition and innovation to the banking sector and advance financial inclusion. It will help policy makers, especially in emerging markets and developing economies,...
Digital Transformation
Payments
Jan 19, 2022
A review of literature on digital payments’ impact on micro and small businesses reveals how digitalization is changing this segment, and why understanding this transition is key to inform effective public and private strategies and investments to accelerate the success of the small business sector as a whole. Read more about new strategies for...
Covid-19
Digital Transformation
Fintech
Nov 24, 2021
The intensity of the COVID-19 shock has clearly varied among MSMEs. On a more positive note, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the digitalization of many MSMEs and fostered their participation in digital ecosystems and marketplaces. In response to the emergency, governments have quickly introduced a wide range of policy and regulatory measures...
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Financial Inclusion
Nov 23, 2021
Financial technology (fintech) has taken centre stage in the financial inclusion industry in recent years. Think digital lending platforms where small businesses can apply for a loan in just a few minutes. And apps that allow people to pay for utility bills or school fees, saving them hours of have to walk to a brick-and-mortar bank. Or Pay-As-You...
43a1.png?itok=ZdOVJeyh "Finance in Africa report finds that banks want to move faster into green lending")
Covid-19
Nov 18, 2021
The EIB, in partnership with Making Finance Work for Africa, surveyed 78 banks in sub-Saharan Africa in early 2021 to see how they are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic and to learn their views on climate risk, green finance and digital financial services. This work formed the basis of our new Finance in Africa report. The report also provides...
Financial Inclusion
Nov 12, 2021
The EIF is the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s specialist provider of risk financing for entrepreneurship and innovation across Europe. It focuses on the whole range of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), starting from the pre-seed, seed-, and start-up-phase (technology transfer, business angel financing, microfinance and early-stage...
3b02.png?itok=nQmhDzEB "2021 Progress Report of APFF, APFIF and APIP - Regaining Momentum: Enabling Financial Services to Catalyze Inclusive, Innovative and Sustainable Recovery")
Financial Inclusion
Sustainable Finance
Covid-19
Sep 16, 2021
With its wide-ranging economic impact, the COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to governments and businesses all over the world. Vigorous responses from governments and central banks have succeeded in averting a major global crisis, but the pandemic and the responses to it have left various medium and long-term challenges in their...
Digital Transformation
Fintech
Sep 08, 2021
Erik Feyen (World Bank), Jon Frost (Bank for International Settlements and Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance), Leonardo Gambacorta (BIS and Centre for Economic Policy Research), Harish Natarajan (World Bank) and Matthew Saal (International Finance Corporation) have jointly published a paper about fintech and digital transformation. Economic...
007c96.png?itok=jK8JVcBq "Enabling and evolving the postal ecosystem – Digital roundtable outputs paper")
Digital Transformation
Aug 31, 2021
On 7 July 2021, Mastercard and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) held a series of convenings, focused on the digital transformation of the sector. During those roundtables, the following topics were discussed: How digital technology and collaborative business models are helping to transform the postal sector and creating new ways for posts to...
3300.png?itok=zHpS3zWR "SME Lending – How data and tech can bring a surge for banks")
Covid-19
Aug 24, 2021
Europe’s banks have a golden opportunity to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the midst of the pandemic, they are the conduits for billions in state funding to support this crucial segment of the economy. However cumbersome legacy IT systems and outdated risk profiling stand in the way. Agile new competitors are...
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Digital Financial Services
Fintech
Aug 17, 2021
To meet the evolving needs of SME customers, banks are transforming their business models, digitizing their offerings, and creating ecosystems with a whole range of beyond banking services. These banking transformations, however, do not just happen overnight. With their business clients at the forefront of their efforts, some banks are going it...
Gender Finance
Aug 09, 2021
Across the globe, e-commerce is thriving. The e-commerce market in Africa is expected to reach $84 billion by 2030. The number of online shoppers has increased by an average of 18 percent every year since 2014, with similar growth anticipated over the next decade. The IFC’s latest report Women and E-commerce in Africa is the first large-scale use...
Digital Transformation
Jul 30, 2021
Following the Asia-Pacific Financial Forum Roundtable, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) released a report that gathers recommendations to APEC Leaders and Finance Ministers on how regional cooperation can help create the digital infrastructure and ecosystem for financial services to accelerate MSMEs’ digital transformation. It examined...
Trade Finance
Jul 22, 2021
The B20, the Business at OECD (BIAC) and the IOE just published a joint paper, followed the B20-OECD-Business at OECD annual meeting last Friday 16th July, proposing three concrete recommendations to the G20 in support of access to Trade Finance. The paper progresses the work on the “GVC Passport” concept initiated last year under the B20 Saudi...
Fintech
Jul 20, 2021
Bitbond is a global peer-to-peer bitcoin lending platform where small businesses get access to affordable loans and lenders earn great interest rates. It is based in Berlin and in operation since 2013. In 2019, Bitbond conducted Germany's first Security Token Offering (STO) with a securities prospectus approved by BaFin. It is a provider for...
Governance
Covid-19
Jun 21, 2021
Afreximbank Research recently published a paper written by Prof. Emmanual Akyeampong (Ellen Gurney Professors of History and of African and African America Studies, and Oppenheimer Faculty Director, Harvard University Center for Africa Studies), discussing the strength and the reaction that African governments have during the post-COVID-19 period...