The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the eighth of which is "decent work and economic growth", namely: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. 

Under this major goal, there are twelve targets, the tenth of which is "Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all".

● Current Situation

About the World

Efficient and Safe Digital Payment Solutions

Photo source: baidu.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased consumer demand for efficient and safe digital payment solutions, with private and public stakeholders joining hands to accelerate development.Digital technologies, ICT and digital literacy play an important role in increasing access and usage of affordable financial products and services. The benefits include being able to transact in the comfort of one’s home, farm, local market, business and ordering goods online and receiving them at one’s doorstep, to name a few. But there are also challenges with infrastructure, policy and regulation, and consumer uptake of digital payment solutions.

Text source: uncdf.org

About China

Further Expand Coverage of Financial Services

Photo source: baidu.com

China continues to expand the coverage of financial services, improve the availability of basic financial services, focus on small and micro enterprises, farmers and the elderly, and use digital financial services to bridge the digital divide. China's financial service coverage, accessibility, affordability and service quality have been significantly improved.

Text source: eastmoney.com 

●  Cases

About the World

Financial Inclusion Platforms and Innovations

UNCDF’s last mile financing models support digital finance innovations to reach unbanked, poor and remote populations who have been excluded from traditional financial networks. This work is founded on supply and demand diagnostics that support governments to engage stakeholders in creating roadmaps for financial inclusion. 

Photo source: cn.bing.com

These processes bring to the table Financial Service Providers (FSPs), insurance companies, mobile network operators, technology companies, agricultural suppliers, and remittance companies, as well as regulators, policymakers (such as ministries of telecommunications, agriculture, education, social welfare) and civil society actors like consumer associations and financial education providers. Challenge funds support the development of new prototypes, and bring to scale viable business models that serve low-income consumers, medium, small and micro-enterprises (MSMEs), the un- and under - banked, especially women.

Text source: uncdf.org

MicroLead Programme

Building off lessons learned from the initial MicroLead programme, MLE encourages formal FSPs to reach out to rural unbanked populations, particularly women, with deposit products and financial education tailored to clients' needs. By deploying alternative delivery channels, such as agency banking and digital financial services (DFS), and predominantly working through informal groups, the programme has set the business model for FSPs and reached over one million rural dwellers who were previously considered unbankable populations.

The next phase of MicroLead will combine the best of our knowledge and practice in multiple fields, including sociology (sociology behind groups being effective savings mechanisms), behavioural economics (use of human-centered design, customer journey and customer engagement strategies), technology (DFS, alternative delivery channels, etc.) and financial analysis (business case and viability). This strategy, integrated with UNCDF's ability to build partnerships and engage with market actors and governments, will result in systemic market changes which drives financial inclusion for all.

Text and photo source: uncdf.org

About China

Tencent Wesure Innovation Improving Public Awareness

In 2013, the CIRC held a video conference on the work deployment of the national insurance public service day. In order to further strengthen the insurance public awareness and continuously improve the insurance awareness of the whole society, the CIRC decided to determine July 8 as the "National Insurance Public Day".

On the day of the 2021 Insurance Public Day, Tencent Weibo joined hands with industry partners to attract attention of young users and popularize insurance knowledge in innovative ways such as big coffee live broadcast, insurance dictionary and risk assessment. Relying on Tencent's Internet gene and social advantages, Wechat has built a new insurance education ecology that is more mature and runs through the user's whole life cycle through a series of innovative interactive forms, and improved public risk awareness and insurance awareness by relying on the pan entertainment user interaction mode and innovative and interesting popular science content.

Text source: qq.com

Inclusive Finance for Poverty Alleviation

The concept of Inclusive Finance was put forward by the United Nations in 2005. It refers to providing appropriate and effective financial services for all with financial service needs at an affordable cost. Vulnerable groups such as small and micro enterprises, farmers and urban low-income groups are its key service targets. The emergence of Inclusive Finance is to enable everyone to enjoy equal financing rights. Instead of limiting the financing to the patents of the upper class, everyone can have better financial services.

Ping An Inclusive Finance has innovated the business model for agriculture, rural areas and farmers through "science and technology financing and agricultural loans", reduced costs through division of labor and cooperation, enabled science and technology to improve sales, and customized the model according to local conditions, so that it is no longer difficult to finance agriculture, rural areas and farmers. At the Third China Inclusive Financial Innovation and Development Summit, it was rated as a "typical case of contribute to poverty alleviation".

Text source: sina.com

●  Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On 1 January, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.