News
Oct 20, 2020 |
GPFI News
Click here to download the report.
Sep 16, 2020 |
GPFI News
The Report on Unlocking Finance for Youth Entrepreneurs: Evidence from a Global Stocktaking prepared for the G20 GPFI by the World Bank Group/IFC and the SME Finance Forum presents good examples from various countries and points to how good practices can be encouraged through enabling policy environments.
Click here to download the report.
Jul 19, 2020 |
GPFI News
Digital financial services have expanded opportunities for millions of women across the globe. More than 240 million more women now have an account with a financial institution or mobile money service, compared to 2014. Through this increased engagement in the formal economy, women’s resilience to financial, economic and health shocks is improving. However, there remains much work to do to achieve gender equality in financial services. Approximately one billion women do not have formal financial services, due to persistent barriers in access to identification documents, mobile phones, digital skills, financial capability, as well as inappropriate products and more. Endorsed by G20 finance ministers, the report outlines 10 policy options to enable G20 members and other governments to rapidly work towards digital financial inclusion of all women. These will not only drive women’s greater economic participation but will also speed up economic recovery.
Click here to download the report.
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Jul 19, 2020 |
GPFI News
Access to finance is a critical barrier for SMEs to start, sustain and grow their businesses. About half of formal SMEs do not have access to formal credit, and instead rely on internal funds, or cash from friends and family, to launch and initially run their business. An extensive survey of SMEs in 135 countries showed that access to finance was reported as the most serious obstacle to the current operations of businesses. In emerging markets, approximately 131 million or 41% of formal SMEs have unmet financing needs. Creating opportunities for SMEs in emerging markets is a critical way to advance economic development and reduce poverty. The application of different technology innovations, digital financial services (DFS), or the provision of financial products and services through digital channels, has become an essential enabler to close the SME financing gap. Technology innovations serve as the foundation for the development of new business models and digital financial products, which include digital loans and other credit products, as well as equity capital.
Jul 19, 2020 |
GPFI News
The focus on Youth reflects the fact that almost half of the world’s 1.2 billion young people aged between 15-24 remain unbanked. The Report examines the factors that contribute to youth financial inclusion and the role of digital financial services in meeting young people’s financial needs, and explores opportunities and challenges relating to advancing youth digital financial inclusion. It sets out a range of policy options for policy makers based on data, research and country approaches, to advance the appropriate and safe digital financial inclusion of young people, including ensuring appropriate financial consumer protection and financial education. These policy options form part of the basis for the G20 High Level Policy Guidelines on Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women, and SMEs. Advancing the Digital Financial Inclusion of Youth reflects inputs and guidance from GPFI member countries, Implementing Partners, Affiliated Partners and other key stakeholders, particularly members of the G20/OECD Task Force on Financial Consumer Protection, FinCoNet, the OECD/International Network on Financial Education, the Arab Monetary Fund and the Alliance
Jul 19, 2020 |
GPFI News
The G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines on Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs (HLPGs) provides sets of featured policy options targeting financial inclusion gaps for youth (subject to child protection frameworks where relevant), women and SMEs through digital financial services in order to reach conditions in which all people can live, work and thrive; as well as utilize and share benefits of innovations and digitalization. The G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines are supported by three reports: (1) Advancing the Digital Financial Inclusion of Youth; (2) Advancing Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion; and (3) Promoting Digital and Innovative SME Financing. The supporting reports emphasize the importance of fostering responsible finance through increased access to digitally enabled financial services as well as addressing relevant cross-cutting issues, including financial consumer protection and financial literacy.
Download the Guidelines here:
Jun 29, 2020 |
GPFI News
The G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines presented to members during the plenary identify supportive and effective policies that will be a valuable resource for governments, the private sector and the international development community, with the aim of reducing the gaps in financial inclusion for youth, women and SMEs through digital financial services. This work is guided by the Saudi G20 Presidency theme of “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All” and the aims of Empowering People and Shaping New Frontiers. The agenda from the plenary is available here.
Jun 29, 2020 |
GPFI News
As governments around the world have responded to the health, social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization has been recognized as being of paramount importance and relevance in ensuring continuity of access to financial services. The GPFI members issued a Statement on COVID-19 Response, reaffirming the G20 commitment under the G20 Action Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the statement here.
May 18, 2020 |
GPFI News
Annual aggregate data is captured annually for only a minority of the world’s countries by the IMF, OECD and others. Little if any data is available at country level on financing for women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs or other key segments of interest to GPFI’s Financial Inclusion Action Plan. Data collected by the IFIs and DFIs is uncoordinated, inconsistent and usually incompatible with national SME definitions and reporting requirements to financial sector regulators. Despite recognition of the importance of data for sound policymaking in SME financing and financial inclusion in general, there is much room for improvement. The G20 countries could play an important role in spurring greater coordination and harmonization at both levels of data collection and dissemination.
