The Alliance for Financial Inclusion is launching an initiative to support members in conducting research on inclusive green finance for MSMEs, with the view to provide further insights and policy guidance to the broader network.
The members of the AFI network have been pioneering the concept of Inclusive Green Finance (IGF). IGF aims to enable climate change mitigation and build resilience among the most vulnerable groups. Women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, and in IGF policy development, there needs to be a specific focus on empowering women in these efforts. Ensuring access and the use of financial services to low-income populations and vulnerable groups allows them to adapt and build resilience to the changing climate and transition to low-carbon activities. Low-income populations can access greener technologies or prepare and rebuild after climate change-induced natural disasters through savings, credit, insurance, and adequate payment systems. However, a knowledge gap remains on how financial regulation and policy initiatives by financial regulators and central banks can promote, reduce barriers, and accelerate finance access for vulnerable groups and MSMEs. As a result, there is scope for AFI members and the research community to develop practical policy knowledge in this critical area of our shared policy priority.
The research initiative includes an in-country implementation component wherein two selected AFI member institutions will be provided with a grant to develop policies or initiatives that aim to enable the regulatory environment for MSMEs to access finance or financial services for greening or resilience-building purposes. The project needs to have a strong gender component. The results of the in-country implementation projects will feed into policy knowledge that will be scaled across the network. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of progressing policy knowledge on inclusive green finance for MSMEs.
AFI invites member institutions to submit an expression of interest to participate in this initiative using the attached template.
The deadline for the submission of the expression of interest is April 30th. Two countries will be selected to proceed with developing a full proposal, and these countries will be supported in the process of developing this proposal. The proposal will follow AFI standard in-country implementation grant process, and the full proposal deadline will be May 31st, 2023.
For interest or inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Johanna Nyman, Head Inclusive Green Finance at the AFI Management Unit (johanna.nyman@afi-global.org). If needed, the AFI Management Unit is happy to schedule a call to discuss ideas and any questions.