Inclusive Finance Frontiers

Are Stablecoins the Next Frontier for Humanitarian Cash Transfers or Just the Latest Promise?

More than US$10.5 billion in cash assistance was delivered globally in 2022, according to the CALP Network. Yet the places with the greatest need are often the hardest to

Beyond the Payroll: Expanding Pension Coverage to Informal Workers

By 2050, one in five people worldwide will be over 60, and most of them will live in low- and middle-income countries. Yet conventional pension schemes, built around form

Built Before the Storm: How Disaster Finance Is Redefining Resilience

As El Niño-driven droughts and intensifying hurricaneseasons push millions into crisis, one question is reshaping disaster finance:what if communities built financial res

Season 4 - Trailer

🎙 Our podcast, Inclusive Finance Frontiers, is back. Agentic AI, stablecoins, inclusive insurance, and pensions for informal workers are reshaping finance for vulnerable

When Cash Can't Wait: Reimagining Payment Distribution in Sudan

Three years ago, conflict erupted in Sudan, and its toll continues to be devastating. The crisis has caused profound human suffering and dismantled the systems households

Loans to Lifelines: Can Lending Innovations Enhance Climate Resilience?

As climate instability intensifies, frontline communities need better tools to adapt and recover. Yet, when extreme weather strikes, the institutions best positioned to h

How Can Data Help Close Gaps in Women’s Financial Inclusion? Lessons from Rwanda

Women's financial inclusion is advancing, but gaps remain. The World Bank's Global Findex 2025 reveals that 77% of women globally now hold a financial account, yet in som

Nano by Necessity: Unlocking Growth for Women Entrepreneurs in Uganda and Beyond

Uganda’s 1.1 million nano and micro enterprises are the economy’s backbone, driving jobs and economic growth. Women lead 55% of them, sustaining households, strengthening

What's Next for Financial Inclusion? Unpacking Findex 2025

Financial inclusion is rising—but are we converting access into impact?   Global Findex 2025 reports 75% of adults in low- and middle-income countries now have an accoun

Season 3 - Trailer

In a world shaped by climate shocks, conflict, fragility, and rapid change, financial services are more important than ever for meeting the needs of low-income communitie

How Can We Improve Resilience Globally? Leading Experts Weigh In

The world faces a variety of ‘global risks’, ranging fromgeopolitical conflicts and climate change to cyber threats. These are growingever more complex and affect all of

Coding Through Crisis: Building a Digital Social Protection System in Lebanon

In 2019, Lebanon witnessed the start of one of the most severe socio-economic crises globally since the mid-nineteenth century, plunging many Lebanese into poverty.   Am

Can Inclusive Carbon Markets Pave the Way for a Just Transition?

The climate crisis demands urgent global action. Green technologies—like solar panels and clean cookstoves—have the potential to transform lives and protect the planet bu

Can AI Revolutionize Financial Consumer Protection?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming almost every aspect of the financial services industry. It is driving efficiencies and sparking innovation by reshapi

Banking on Open Finance to Advance Financial Inclusion: Lessons from Brazil

In Brazil, the banking world is changing fast. Open Finance allows people in Brazil to securely share their financial data across financial service providers, sparking co

Empowering Micro-Retailers Through Digitization: Hype or Promise?

From a duka in Kenya, a tienda de barrio in Colombia or a kirana in India, micro-retailers that stock fast-moving consumer goods go by many different names around the wor

Voices from the Frontlines of Climate Change

Everyone in the world is grappling with climate change, but for those on the front lines, it’s a daily struggle for survival. In this episode, we travel to Bangladesh to

Season 2 Trailer

Climate change, poverty, inequality, and conflict challenge progress, with 7% of the population expected to live in extreme poverty by 2030. Yet, financial innovation and

Digital Finance’s Little Secret... (Agent Networks)

The wide reach of digital financial services, such as digital savings, credit, payments, insurance or investment products, can unlock life-changing opportunities for low-

Will Central Bank Digital Currencies be a game-changer for financial inclusion?

Central banks have been eying the emergence of privately issued digital currencies with a mix of excitement and anxiety and some began experimenting with their own versio