Financial Inclusion is an enabler for seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the World Bank considers Financial Inclusion as a key enabler of reducing extreme poverty and supporting economic development.

In a development context, Financial Inclusion means that individuals and MSMEs (micro, small and medium sized enterprises) have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs.

The Humanitarian Impact Institute takes this one step further and believes that Financial Inclusion also considers gender, age, disability and social exclusion factors in order to optimise the development outcomes. 

Financial Inclusion is an area of immense opportunity for innovation, especially digital and smartphone based technical innovations in countries with lower access to physical banks and payment modalities. 

The Humanitarian Impact Institute is well positioned to conduct impact evaluations or independent operational reviews of Financial Inclusion programs covering strategy, policy, innovation, skills development and livelihoods and business incubation.