Overview

Impact Pathfinder is an online evidence platform that synthesises global research on financial inclusion and its development impacts. It maps how financial services such as credit, savings, payments and insurance link to outcomes including resilience, income stability and women’s economic participation. Finance professionals may find it relevant for evidence-based decision-making, impact assessment and ESG analysis related to inclusive finance.

Organisation behind the tool

Impact Pathfinder is developed and maintained by Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a global partnership housed at the World Bank. CGAP works with development finance institutions, governments, foundations and the private sector to advance financial inclusion. The tool forms part of CGAP’s work on evidence-based financial inclusion and impact measurement.

What the tool does

Impact Pathfinder provides structured access to research evidence on financial inclusion through the following features:

• Maps “impact pathways” linking specific financial services to development outcomes
• Synthesises findings from hundreds of academic and applied studies
• Shows the direction and strength of evidence, rather than quantitative effect sizes
• Highlights contextual and enabling factors that influence outcomes
• Identifies evidence gaps where research is limited or inconclusive
• Allows users to explore evidence by financial service, target group or outcome area
• Provides concise summaries alongside links to underlying studies

The platform is exploratory and analytical, supporting qualitative comparison rather than financial modelling or forecasting.

Target audience

Primary users include:

• Investors and funders focused on financial inclusion
• Policymakers and regulators working on inclusive finance frameworks

Other relevant audiences include:

• Development finance institutions
• Financial service providers
• Researchers and analysts
• Impact measurement and evaluation professionals

Relevance to finance professionals

Impact Pathfinder can support finance-related work in several areas:

ESG analysis

• Supports assessment of social outcomes linked to financial inclusion strategies
• Provides evidence for social impact narratives in ESG and sustainability reporting

Investment context

• Informs impact-oriented investment decisions in inclusive finance, fintech and microfinance
• Helps assess whether expected social outcomes are supported by existing evidence

Risk and impact assessment

• Highlights conditions under which financial inclusion may have neutral or negative outcomes
• Supports more realistic impact assumptions in blended finance or development-linked investments

Strategy and product design

• Informs alignment between financial products and intended development outcomes
• Helps investors and institutions understand where impact claims are well supported or uncertain

Overall, Impact Pathfinder functions as an evidence reference tool rather than a dataset or forecasting model, supporting informed judgement in sustainable and inclusive finance decision-making.