New & Noteworthy

This week The Guardian launched a new Financial Inclusion hub, a community-focused site sharing stories, infographics, videos, and other financial inclusion resources. The hub is part of the Global Development Professionals Network website, with content contributed by Guardian editors to spur debate, discussion, and learning among global development professionals. CFI is a knowledge partner with The Guardian for the hub, suggesting story topics and ideas and facilitating connections with editors. Visit the hub, here, and join in the conversion on Twitter using #NOunbanked.

Today at the 5th NCPEDP MPHASIS Universal Design Awards in New Delhi, CFI in partnership with v-shesh, Annapurna, ESAF, and Equitas was awarded for our disability inclusion efforts among MFIs in India. The Universal Design Awards acknowledge persons with disabilities, working professionals, and organizations whose innovative initiatives have created an impact in the area of accessibility. Our work in India centers on creating a disability inclusion operating model and tools for MFIs, and conducting accessibility trainings at institutions throughout the country. For more on the Universal Design Awards, click here.

Based on decades of founding member experience in microfinance risk management, the Risk management Initiative in Microfinance (RIM) has embarked on the development of a pathways-based risk management framework called the Risk Management Graduation Model. The goal of this model – currently in pilot testing – is to provide the microfinance industry with scalable risk management standards for MFIs at varying levels of institutional development. Today a RIM webinar presented the philosophies and motivations behind the risk model, and the role the risk model plays within the current microfinance landscape. To access the webinar’s presentation slides, click here.

Released today, the newest installment in the Microfinance Banana Skins report series, Facing Reality, finds that the number one concern confronting the microfinance industry is overindebtedness. The report captures the industry perceptions and insights of more than 300 practitioners and close industry observers from 70 countries, gathered through a survey. The risks and opportunities facing the industry reflect microfinance’s fast-changing environment of new providers and services. To read the report, a joint effort from CSFI, Citi Foundation, and CFI, click here.

How does the microfinance community view persons with disabilities (PWD)? In a new CFI publication authored by Vipin Gupta of Credit Suisse, microfinance institution (MFI) leadership and staff as well as clients with and without disabilities were asked their thoughts on including PWD as microfinance clients. Conducted alongside v-shesh, across three Indian MFIs, the publication's study sheds light on awareness of PWD and how they’re perceived among MFI stakeholders, and challenges and recommendations for achieving disability inclusion. To read the publication, click here.

If you are new to the financial inclusion industry, or just looking to uncover more about some of its key action areas, there’s a new online portal sharing resources that those at the Financial Inclusion 2020 project believe are essential: the FI2020 Resource Library. The FI2020 team compiled some of its favorite resources on financial inclusion, including publications, blog posts, white papers, websites, data, and policy sources. We invite you to explore the suggested resources, each featuring its own annotation, and contribute to the library by suggesting your favorite resources.

What does it mean to exit an investment responsibly? A new joint publication from CFI and CGAP, The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales, dissects this increasingly pertinent question. Due to a combination of several different factors, the number of exits from microfinance equity investments is anticipated to accelerate in the coming years. The new report shares the thoughts and experiences of 50 investors and industry stakeholders, uncovering insights on social concerns for exiting investors, effective practices for responsible exiting, and process considerations for exiting investments smoothly. To access the new publication, click here. 

How can governments best regulate to advance financial inclusion? In recent years, more governments have taken steps to advance financial inclusion. Though on the whole, regulation struggles to keep pace with the increasingly complex services landscape, and progress is limited. In the following video, global leaders discuss the role of regulation in financial inclusion, and how coordination within governments and between sectors can lead to more informed and enabling regulation and services environments. To watch the video, click here.

Today Josh Goldstein and Sergio Guzmán will convene with local regulators, providers and support organizations in Ecuador to develop steps for developing a policy environment conducive to the financial inclusion of persons with disabilities. The daylong meeting, “International Meeting of Microfinance for All: the Way Towards Productive Inclusion” is organized in conjunction with the Office of the Vice President of Ecuador and will include a keynote address by Josh, in addition to a series of financial inclusion-focused panels with speakers from the public and private sectors. To learn more about CFI’s work on disability inclusion, click here.

A new report from BBVA Research, Factors that Matter for Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Peru cites findings from CFI’s work examining the state of and how to advance financial inclusion in Peru. The BBVA report offers a quantitative look at the determinants of inclusion in the country based on survey data. The report quotes a survey conducted by CFI of senior cross-sector professionals on the opportunities and obstacles to financial inclusion in Peru, as well as the corresponding CFI report that shares these survey findings.