The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently released a report titled “Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion”, that identifies client financial education as the top opportunity in the microfinance sphere [1]. Based on a survey of 301 microfinance stakeholders, the report also indicates that the lack of financial literacy is the main obstacle to financial inclusion.
However, different stakeholder groups prioritize other opportunities and obstacles as follows: (1) service providers see the cost of building branches as the top obstacle; (2) investor and support organizations showed most concern for inadequate client protection and identified credit bureaus as the top opportunity; and (3) mobile service providers were excited about emerging opportunities such as “technology-enhanced delivery channels.”
CFI plans to organize a series of roundtable discussion based on the paper with industry leaders to build an “action agenda” to increase financial inclusion. For the entire report, you may visit:
http://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/opportunities-and-obstacles-to-financial-inclusion_110708_final.pdf
By Nisha Koul, Research Associate
About Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI): The Centre for Financial Inclusion (CFI) is an initiative of US-based nonprofit ACCION International. The centre works with microfinance experts, regulators, banks, investors and academics in an effort to increase financial inclusion by connecting the microfinance community to capital markets and technology.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Center for Financial Inclusion Blog, “CFI Unveils Key Survey Findings in ‘Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion’ Report,” http://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/cfi-unveils-key-survey-findings-in-%E2%80%98opportunities-and-obstacles-to-financial-inclusion%E2%80%99-report/
MicroCapital.org story, August 18, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Centre (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States’ “Financial Education Program” Reaches 100,000 Low-Income Households in Eastern Europe, Central Asia,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-centre-mfc-for-central-and-eastern-europe-and-the-new-independent-states%E2%80%99-%E2%80%9Cfinancial-education-program%E2%80%9D-reaches-100000-low-income-households/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Center+for+Financial+Inclusion+%28CFI%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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