15 Dec 2024
e-MFP has had a busy and productive 2024 and this is especially true for publications. A big thank you to all those involved and in case some passed you by, see the complete list:
e-MFP Activity Report 2024
2024 has been an exceptionally productive year for e-MFP, marked by significant progress across all areas of our work. From sector engagement and member activities to events, publications, and strategic initiatives, we’ve expanded our impact while keeping you, our members, at the centre of everything we do. This activity report provides an overview of our achievements, highlighting the efforts of our dedicated small team across all workstreams.
Evaluating the WASH Action Group Indicator Framework: A brief on the practices of investors and their partners
Following on the work initiated in 2022, the e-MFP WASH AG has implemented with MicroSave Consulting (MSC) a research project aiming to evaluate the applicability and adoption of the WASH AG Indicator Framework. During the research, the MSC team consulted key stakeholders, including asset managers, financial intermediaries (FIs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to document current impact measurement practices within the WASH sector, assess their alignment with the WASH AG Indicator Framework, and identify key challenges these entities face in data recording and impact measurement. This dissemination brief summarises the key findings of the research project and offers actionable recommendations to enhance framework adoption, aiming to bridge critical gaps in impact measurement and reporting, ultimately improving the transparency and effectiveness of WASH sector interventions.
Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees & Forcibly Displaced People: Insights from the European Microfinance Award 2024
This paper is the latest in an annual series which presents and reflects on the landscape, themes, and insights from that year’s European Microfinance Award. The idea has always been to condense the topic into a format that is accessible for those who don’t work directly within it, while extracting, via the specific cases of the Award semi-finalists and finalists, insights on an evolving best practice that can be leveraged by others.
This year’s publication begins with a primer on the topic: what is displacement and its drivers? How is displacement related to financial exclusion? What challenges do FDPs face, and what do providers face in seeking to serve them? And what are FDPs’ financial and non-financial needs depending on their phase of displacement? The second part of the paper pivots from challenges to solutions, combining some theoretical insights with practical case examples from the ten EMA semi-finalists. And finally, presents some ‘lessons learned’ (in the words of the applicant organisations themselves) and concludes with ‘Factors for success: Eight insights on advancing the financial inclusion of FDPs’ — what the e-MFP Award team see as some of the factors that underpin excellence or innovation in this most important field.
e-MFP Members’ Spotlight on ‘Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees & Forcibly Displaced People
e-MFP is a member-led platform, and we always want to hear what our members are doing in different fields, to increase linkages and knowledge-sharing both across the platform and with other stakeholders. Over 2024, e-MFP reached out with some questions to its members to see who was doing what in the area of this year's European Microfinance Award theme – 'Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees & Forcibly Displaced People'. There was a record response, and we are grateful to those members who took the time to share their work and experiences.
8th European Research Conference on Microfinance - Conference Report
The 8th European Research Conference on Microfinance with the theme "Microfinance and Transition: Exploring Pathways for Economic, Social, and Environmental Transformations” took place 24th-26th June 2024 at the University of Bergamo, Italy. The conference was organised by the University of Bergamo in cooperation with CERMi and e-MFP.
Financial Inclusion Compass 2024
The Financial Inclusion Compass 2024 is the seventh annual survey of financial inclusion stakeholders to better understand perspectives on current trends, future priority areas, challenges, opportunities and beyond.
There were 149 responses to the survey, from a record 63 countries, and with a record representation of financial service providers – who continue to diverge from other respondent groups in how they perceive many important issues. This, more than anything, is the theme of this year’s Compass, and surely has implications for all stakeholders in how they prioritise, promote, fund, or research different areas of financial inclusion.
Read the publication in English
An 'Executive Summary' is available in Spanish or French
Implementing Financial Health: Creating Mutual Success for Financial Service Providers and Clients - Research Digest #3
The publication prepared by the e-MFP ‘From Research to Practice and Back Again’ Action Group (AG) with support of consultant Aurélie Larquemin builds upon the AG’s work started in 2022 delving deeper into the topic of financial health. This Third Research Digest presents the AG’s business case for financial health at the level of the financial service providers (FSPs) offering a comprehensive theoretical framework and actionable steps to assist FSPs in adopting a proactive approach to support their clients’ financial health while becoming more resilient and profitable and developing more robust internal and external relationships.
Green Essential Practices Report: Highlights of Good Green Practices
This report from the e-MFP Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group (GICSF-AG) features a selection of exemplary green inclusive finance practices identified among the green profiles and case studies included in the Green Map. It offers insights into the successes but also the challenges faced by financial service providers, and the solutions they found, to design and implement their green strategy. We hope it will be a source of inspiration for financial service providers and their partners contributing to capitalise on the sector’s experience to accelerate the green transition for poor households, smallholders, micro and small enterprises, and the inclusive finance actors themselves.
Read in English / Lire en français / Leer en español
Rethinking Responsible Equity Exits: A Call to Action for Impact Investors
In February 2024, e-MFP and Cerise+SPTF released a joint paper shaking up the world of impact investing – a rallying call to all impact investors to ensure their exits uphold the values they have championed throughout their investments. Indeed when it comes to impact objectives, the last stage – the exit – is far too often forgotten, or at best, given minimal attention. And yet, for equity investors, that last step can be as important as the initial investment, or the work done throughout the life of the investment. A bad exit could easily undo decades of social impact work. This paper is a roadmap for investors committed to making a real difference and living by the motto “Do No Harm”.