Browse by Theme: Technology & Innovation

The number of women in the world who still lack access to formal financial services stands at 1 billion. While this figure is going down, the discrimination that women face compared to men, in terms of their access to and control over loans, savings and bank account services, continue to hold women back. If we are to see this 1 billion figure drop down to zero, then private sector organisations, governments and civil society organisations must work together to tackle the barriers slowing up progress, and invest in solutions to target women’s equal inclusion in the formal financial arena.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is upon us. Too much to be excited about, right? Or, like me, you may still be wrapping your head around what this revolution means...

Despite promising advances and commitments to financial inclusion and mobile money, Tanzania remains home to millions of unbanked or under-banked people. Analysis of data about financial inclusion and savings groups sheds some light on the role that savings groups might play in closing that gap. The results highlight a formidable challenge but also a massive opportunity: millions of Tanzanians – most of them young, poor, rural and female – are collectively circulating roughly US$175 million each year through informal systems of saving and commerce. As the year 2015 comes to a close, stakeholders of the Tanzanian mobile, financial and development sectors are facing massive opportunities and important decisions about how to link this under-served market to formal financial services.

Welcome to CARE International’s first ever Entrepreneur in Residence, Ken Banks. Ken will be spending time with us over the next year to help make sense of the increasingly complex world of social innovation and technology-for-development. So, what exactly is an Entrepreneur in Residence, and why might we need one at CARE? Ken provides some answers...

Within Reach, a new report launched on 5 November by CARE and Accenture, the global consulting firm, sets out how banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being inclusive. At CARE we know that providing access to basic formal bank accounts has a transformative effect for those living in poverty, especially women. Decades of working in this area has proven that even the poorest, those living on less than $2, can save and become viable customers. We believe that this report shows that financial inclusion can also be a viable business strategy.

CARE is about to publish a report on How banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being more inclusive.  We’ve worked closely with Accenture, the global consulting firm, to analyse how banks are addressing the financial inclusion marketplace and we’ve developed some insights on how they can reach people in developing countries on very low incomes, profitably and responsibly.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the first time a global compact on overcoming poverty has been created in the digital age. Harnessing the promise of technology will be key to transforming poverty and power in the next 15 years, but we must make sure the most marginalised are not left behind.