Our insights

The blog underscores the critical need for bold climate action at COP28 and emphasizes how inclusive finance, through initiatives like those by SCBF, can play a pivotal role in fostering climate resilience, especially for underserved communities. It demonstrates the potential of tailored financial solutions in supporting both climate mitigation and adaptation, helping to build a sustainable, climate-friendly economy.

The blog discusses a project in Mozambique, where SCBF partnered with Accion and Socremo MicroBanco to enhance financial inclusion for low-income individuals by digitizing savings products. The "Vitamina" savings product was upgraded, integrated with mobile wallets, and offered self-service options. The project also addressed challenges like customer trust and adoption through ongoing engagement and collaboration.

This blog highlights a project in Mali supported by SCBF that strengthens women-led Self-Help Groups (Yeredeme) to foster financial empowerment and community development through savings, microloans. With support from CAMIDE and Bɛnso Jamanu, the initiative enhances sustainability by forming federations, promoting income-generating ventures, and fostering peer-led learning.

The blog showcases how Annapurna Finance, with support from Accion and SCBF, is empowering young entrepreneurs in India by improving access to finance and digital tools. It highlights efforts to enhance Annapurna’s Customer Engagement Platform to better serve tech-savvy clients and promote digital financial inclusion among underserved youth facing unemployment.

This blog by Amit Gupta and Aditya Agarwal highlights how Annapurna Finance, supported by Accion and SCBF, fast-tracked its digital shift during COVID-19 by developing a Customer Engagement Platform. The platform improves communication with clients via direct digital channels and aims to ensure accessible, relevant digital experiences across customer segments with varying digital literacy.

This piece highlights the urgent need to shift climate finance toward bottom-up approaches that support vulnerable communities with green energy, financial access, and climate adaptation tools. It distinguishes green from climate finance, stresses the transformative role of digital financial services, and showcases SCBF’s support for tech-enabled solutions like insurance and solar microloans. It calls for innovation, impact focus, and collaboration in green inclusive finance to address climate resilience and development goals.

This summary outlines VisionFund's efforts to expand access to health microinsurance for vulnerable communities by partnering with local insurers and World Vision. Supported by SCBF, a two-year pilot in Ghana and Malawi tested microinsurance delivery to savings groups. The report highlights the pilot’s outcomes, evaluation process, key lessons learned, and proposed steps for scaling the initiative to enhance financial protection for low-income families.

In this republished Cenfri blog, based on a project supported by SCBF in Kenya, key lessons emerged on improving health microinsurance (HMI) for low-income clients through Britam and M-TIBA’s offering. The research highlights the importance of perceived value, effective onboarding, simplicity, human interaction alongside digital tools, and well-trained healthcare partners. These insights are being used to refine the product and enhance customer experience, with the aim of boosting uptake and retention.

This blog showcases how a human-centered design approach - supported by SCBF and implemented by Accion - helped Socremo and Hollard Insurance co-develop a bundled funeral insurance and savings product tailored to low-income microentrepreneurs in Mozambique. It explores how this innovative solution addressed cultural and financial barriers to insurance, boosted financial resilience, and led to a 60% increase in product uptake, while also documenting key challenges, outcomes, and learnings.