Dear RFILC members,

Our November’s insight issue will start by focusing on a state of the sector report titled “Pathways to Prosperity – Rural and Agricultural Finance”, authored by ISF Advisors and MasterCard Foundation Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab. The report discusses how, despite significant progress in the sector, financial service providers are still unable to meet the full USD 240 billion demand of smallholder households for agricultural and non-agricultural finance. The latest data suggests that providers are currently supplying approximately USD 70 billion. This leaves around USD 170 billion (or 70 percent) of the global demand for smallholder finance unmet—a gap that cuts across all geographic regions and financing types. To bridge this persistent financing gap, we must figure out how rural clients, financial service providers, and the capital markets can effectively work together.

Moving on, we would like to present a publication from the GSMA called “Harnessing the Power of Mobile Money to Achieve the Sustainable Development”. This document explores how mobile money can help achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ targets by driving sustainable and inclusive growth, while providing solutions to some of the world’s most intractable development challenges. Over the last decade, mobile money has been disrupting traditional financial services and transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of people across developing countries. Today, with over USD 1.3 billion a day processed by over 866 million registered accounts in 90 countries, mobile money has evolved into a broader payments platform that provides access to life-enhancing services, such as healthcare, education, employment, transportation and social protection. As national economies become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the power of mobile money to harness digital finance for sustainable development is strengthening.

Lastly, the second edition of the Asia Financial Institutions Forum (AFIFORUM) will return on January 22 and 23 to Bangkok, Thailand. The inaugural edition of the Asia Financial Institution Forum, January 2019, provided the biggest impact investment and finance platform in the Asian region. The event mobilizes investments and financing on SDG themes and the role local financial institutions play in this development (microfinance institutions, non-banking financial institutions, financial service providers and banks).

With best regards,

The RFILC Editorial Team