Library | ESG issues
Inclusive Finance
Inclusive finance, also known as financial inclusion, refers to the provision of accessible, affordable, and timely financial products and services to all individuals and businesses, regardless of income level or socioeconomic status. This encompasses services such as banking, credit, insurance, and payment systems, delivered responsibly and sustainably. By integrating underserved populations into the financial system, inclusive finance fosters entrepreneurship, reduces poverty, and promotes economic growth.
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State of blended finance series
State of Blended Finance is a research series examining how public, philanthropic and private capital combine to finance sustainable development in emerging markets. It analyses transaction structures, investor participation, capital mobilisation, development impact, market trends and barriers to scaling blended finance.
Landscape of technical assistance to agri-SMEs: Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean
This report maps the technical assistance ecosystem for agri-SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. It identifies structural gaps in information, pre-investment funding, and coordination. The analysis offers strategies to strengthen the ecosystem, highlighting the importance of nature integration and supporting local providers to improve investment readiness.
International credit to Africa
This research examines the rapid expansion of international credit to Africa since the Global Financial Crisis. It highlights the rise of Chinese lending under the Belt and Road Initiative, the dramatic growth of international bond issuance, and the continued dominance of governments as borrowers in US dollar-denominated markets.
Upgrading financial markets
This field experiment in rural Sierra Leone evaluates upgrading Village Savings and Loan Associations into digital financial service agents. While infrastructure expands access, introducing consumer feedback mechanisms significantly improves service quality, transaction usage, and household shock mitigation. Results demonstrate that accountability is essential for developing functional, scalable financial markets.
Green subsidies with demand distortions
This research evaluates green subsidies for induction stoves in Kenya, finding that demand distortions like credit constraints significantly enhance subsidy efficacy. While usage subsidies had no impact, purchase price subsidies achieved carbon abatement at just US$12 per ton. Contexts with high distortions offer highly cost-effective climate mitigation opportunities.
Pricing power in the mortgage market: Evidence from GSE fee waivers
This research examines GSE fee waivers for lower-income first-time homebuyers, revealing that lenders pass through less than 40% of these savings. Intermediaries captured over 60% of the $1.5 billion benefit. High-cost loan officers and non-banks show the lowest pass-through, highlighting significant market power and search frictions.
Charting the path: Foundations for a scalable First Nations investment market in Australia
This research outlines foundations for a scalable First Nations investment market in Australia. It identifies systemic barriers and proposes a theory of change focused on representation, systems alignment, and capital flows. The report recommends embedding cultural authority into governance and utilising blended finance to support First Nations economic self-determination.
A practitioner's guide to impact vehicle structuring
This guide provides a six-step roadmap for designing and structuring impact investment vehicles. It offers practical frameworks for assessing market gaps, establishing partnerships, and defining investment and impact strategies. Featuring seventeen global case studies, the report emphasises mobilising domestic capital and using blended finance to address underserved social and environmental needs.
UDB Currency Risk-Sharing Facility: Instrument design report
The UDB Currency Risk-Sharing Facility manages foreign exchange risks for climate lending in Uganda. By combining partial hedging with tail-risk guarantees, it offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional instruments. This facility enables affordable local-currency financing while protecting the bank's balance sheet against significant Ugandan shilling depreciation.
Opening the black box on the impact of inclusive credit
This report examines inclusive credit's impact using a five-factor framework: who, how, what for, where, and when. Drawing on 405 studies and machine learning analysis, it advocates for "precision credit"—matching product design to borrower circumstances—to move beyond average effects and ensure meaningful developmental outcomes in emerging markets.
Hidden in plain sight: Unlocking actionable insights in client data
CGAP introduces Precision Causal Modelling to help financial providers identify which product configurations work for specific client segments. Piloted across five institutions, the methodology revealed delivery gaps of 32 to 84 percentage points. Key findings highlight the importance of right-sizing loans and monitoring delinquency trajectories to improve client outcomes.
Measuring financial health: A framework
This working paper introduces a multidimensional framework for measuring financial health, grounded in 70 global initiatives. It translates G20/GPFI definitions into 17 indicators across six constructs, providing financial sector authorities with practical tools for diagnostic, evaluative, and early warning analysis using administrative and survey data.
Advancing competition for financial inclusion: Six policy considerations for financial sector authorities
This report provides six policy considerations for financial sector authorities to promote competition and advance financial inclusion. Drawing on eight country case studies, it explains how regulators can use existing mandates, coordinate across sectors, and leverage infrastructure design to address market concentration and support digital financial innovation.
Atlas of Global Development 2026
An interactive data platform from the World Bank tracking 75 years of global progress across people, prosperity, planet, infrastructure, and digital themes.
Extending social protection coverage to workers in the agricultural sector and their families: Lessons from international experience
Report examines extending social protection to agricultural workers. Highlighting that rural areas account for more than three-quarters of the extreme poor, it identifies barriers like legal exclusion and informal employment. It presents international solutions, including flexible contribution schedules and mobile service delivery, to achieve universal coverage for rural populations.
Unlocking catalytic capital in Australia
This report examines the role of catalytic capital in Australia, exploring how flexible, risk-tolerant investment can mobilise private capital for social and environmental impact. It defines the current market, identifies barriers to growth, and provides case studies of successful deployment across philanthropic, government, and institutional sectors.
