Inclusive Finance Frontiers

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 once relied on to absorb shocks. The financial sector has been hit hard: liquidity has dried up, infrastructure destroyed, and social protection mechanisms unraveled. Humanitarian actors have scaled up cash assistance, but face serious obstacles: limited liquidity, fragmented financial service providers, and complex payment processes. This has resulted in accumulated delays of up to 200 days in delivering cash transfers in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis. In this episode, we explore an emerging solution: the Shared Distribution Network (SEND), designed by CGAP and the Cash Consortium of Sudan to cut delays and improve cost-effectiveness. Featured Voices: Rayan Nimir, Policy and Advocacy Advisor, Collective Sudan (formerly, Cash Consortium of Sudan) William Cook, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP Hiba Al-Madani, a cash recipient and small business owner in Sudan Producer: Lamis Daoud, CGAP External Affairs Officer Audio Editor and Sound Producer: Samantha Malhotra, World Bank Group Interactive Media Program Executive Producer: Jahda Swanborough, CGAP Communications Lead © CGAP/World Bank, 2026 Special thanks to Sara Murray from CGAP for her expertise and insights that brought this episode to life, the Cash Collective for conducting the interview with Hiba Al-Madani, and Samah Salman for dubbing Hiba’s contribution. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

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 some low- and middle-income countries, women are still up to 30 percentage points less likely to own one than men. So, what's driving this persistent divide, and how do we close it? In our last episode, we looked at some of the barriers nano women entrepreneurs face and potential solutions. Thie time, we turn to the power of data. Gender-disaggregated data gives regulators and financial service providers the insight needed to design products and policies that truly serve women. In this episode, we explore how Rwanda is leading the way using smarter data collection to build a more inclusive and equitable financial system for women. Featured Voices Dr. Moise Bigirimana, Director of Financial Sector Development and Inclusion, National Bank of Rwanda Michelle Gacinya, Strategy Lead W-MSME, Bank of Kigali Sabrina Mutangana, Skincare business owner, Rwanda Producer: Lamis Daoud, CGAP External Affairs Officer Audio Editor and Sound Producer: Samantha Malhotra, World Bank Group Interactive Media Program Executive Producer: Jahda Swanborough, CGAP Communications Lead © CGAP/World Bank, 2026 Special thanks to Valdete Berisha for conducting the interviews with this episode's guests on behalf of the produce. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

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 account (79% globally), powered by the wave of digital as mobile phones and the internet transform access and usage. Yet 1.3 billion adults remain unbanked, 300 million accounts sit idle, and large gender gaps persist across regions. Credit, insurance, and pensions lag, and nearly half of adults in emerging markets still struggle to raise emergency funds. Join top voices in the financial inclusion space to unpack the latest Findex findings and map the path forward toward development outcomes. Featured VoicesLeora Klapper, Lead Economist at the World Bank and founder of the Global Findex databaseMichael Schlein, President and CEO of AccionSophie Sirtaine, World Bank Group Director, for the Financial Services Sector and CEO of CGAPLong Nath, salon owner in CambodiaProducer: Lamis Daoud, CGAP External Affairs Officer Audio Editor and Sound Producer: Samantha Malhotra, World Bank Group Interactive Media ProgramExecutive Producer: Jahda Swanborough, CGAP Communications Lead© CGAP/World Bank, 2026Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

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. Amid the hardships, a new hope emerged in 2021. The World Bank set up a $246 million social safety net project and the Government of Lebanon (GoL) designed a registration platform for this program, with the help of Siren Associates, called DAEM (Arabic for "support"). Built in record time, DAEM is more than just a registry; it’s a fully localized social protection system that provides a lifeline to Lebanese families hit by crisis.In this episode, we hear from the GoL, CGAP, the World Bank, and Siren Associates about how collaboration was key to DAEM’s success and how, even in the most challenging conditions, it’s possible to design solutions that go beyond emergency relief and sow the seeds for a more inclusive financial system. This is Season 2, Episode 6 of CGAP's podcast, Inclusive Finance Frontiers. Ahmed Fatih Ortakaya, Senior Social Protection Specialist, World BankCarole Alsharabati, Research Director, SIREN AssociatesMarie Louise Abou Jaoudeh, Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) of the Government of LebanonNadine Chehade, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Souraya Sbeih, Consultant, CGAP Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visitwww.cgap.org. To share feedback, connect with us atpodcast@cgap.org. This episode incorporates a news report from PBS NewsHour, Financial crisis leads some in Lebanon to rob banks to access their money.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming almost every aspect of the financial services industry. It is driving efficiencies and sparking innovation by reshaping the way financial authorities protect consumers—not just how financial service providers operate. But financial authorities need to walk a tightrope. While they need to harness the power of AI to improve consumer protection, they must also address the novel risks and challenges that AI brings, such as new forms of financial fraud, cyber threats, and data privacy concerns. This episode explores how the Central Bank of the Philippines is embracing AI-powered "SupTech” (supervisory technology) for its chatbot named BOB to enhance financial consumer protection. We'll hear from experts at the Central Bank of the Philippines, the Cambridge SupTech Lab, and CGAP about the potential benefits and risks of this revolutionary technology. Featured Voices: Charina B. De Vera-Yap, Director of the Consumer Protection and Market Conduct Office (CPMCO), Regional Operations and Advocacy Sector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Matt Grasser, Co-Head and Tech Lead, Cambridge SupTech Lab and Principal Technologist at Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) Juan Carlos Izaguirre, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP Eric Duflos, Senior Financial Sector Specialist and Consumer Protection Lead, CGAP Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. To share feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

The wide reach of digital financial services, such as digital savings, credit, payments, insurance or investment products, can unlock life-changing opportunities for low-income consumers by helping them save, borrow, and receive remittances. But here’s a little secret about the seemingly endless array of these digital services: their current ability to attract and serve new users largely depends on the expansion of old-fashioned physical interaction through agent networks. These networks enable users to deposit or withdraw cash from digital accounts, which is crucial in cash economies where digital finance has limited use cases. Expanding these networks beyond large cities is notoriously difficult, but significant progress has been made in recent years — and in surprising ways. In this episode, we explore the latest advances in agent networks and what they mean for the future of inclusive finance. Featured Voices: · Emilio Hernandez, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP · Sasidhar Thumuluri, Managing Director and CEO, Sub-K · Archana Pandey, General Manager, Financial Inclusion at Bank of Baroda · Sandhya Rani, Sub-K rural agent Special thanks to Anand Raman, CGAP consultant based in India, for his help in leading interviews with Sub-K agents and customers. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

Typhoon Rai made landfall in the Philippines in December 2021, killing over 400 people, devastating 1.5 million homes, and causing over US$1 billion in damage. Extreme weather events like Rai are becoming more common as a result of climate change. Financial services can make households more resilient and adaptive, but too often the people who are most vulnerable to these shocks—such as women, poor people, forcibly displaced people, and people in rural areas—are also financially excluded. In this episode, we travel to the Philippines to speak with a Typhoon Rai survivor and the insurance provider that helped her rebuild her home, as we explore the changing role of insurance and other financial services in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Featured Voices: Astrid Zwick, Head of InsuResilience Secretariat Emilie Fernandes, former Philippines Country Director, Relief International Lorenzo Chan, President and CEO of Pioneer Inc. Annaliza Hermano, a Pioneer Insurance customer Wendy Chamberlin, CGAP Consultant Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.

What are the frontiers of financial inclusion? Of course, there is a geographical frontier: people in rural areas are more often excluded from the financial system. There’s also a technological frontier: while digital technology has greatly expanded the reach of financial services, those on the other side of the digital divide are being left behind. But there’s also a social frontier, often in the form of social norms that dictate who can – and can’t – access and use financial services. In this episode, we hear from Women’s Micro Bank (also known as Mama Bank), a bank in Papua New Guinea that pushed geographical and technological boundaries in its attempts to expand rural women’s access to banking services but ran into its biggest challenges at the social frontier. Featured voices: Jill Pijui, Head Trainer, Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) in Papua New Guinea Gunanidhi Das, CEO, Women’s Micro Bank (Mama Bank) Gina Gelena, Mama Bank agent Elle Pele, Mama Bank customer Katie Highet, CGAP Consultant Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. To learn more, visit www.cgap.org. If you have any feedback, connect with us at podcast@cgap.org.