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Guest editorial: Poverty reduction in the FinTech age
01.06.2018
In recent years, debates on microfinance have gravitated towards a discussion of financial inclusion and away from the role of microcredit in poverty reduction. A consensus has emerged that although microcredit may not reduce poverty, neither does it cause harm for the most part. At a minimum, access to microcredit gives people options for managing their financial lives, usually with greater predictability, privacy and dignity, while opening the door to other forms of financial service – certainly not something to be dismissed. But, now that financial inclusion (access to finance) is almost synonymous with the financial technologies (FinTech) that enable inclusion, is financial inclusion enough and what role does FinTech play? -
Gender inclusion in market systems programming
01.03.2020
This paper examines gender inclusion and women’s empowerment with a market systems lens. It draws on an earlier gender inclusion framework for market systems commissioned by the M4P Hub and published as a Springfield Paper in 2012 as well as an updated and expanded version of the framework published by the BEAM Exchange in 2016. This paper provides a brief background on the M4P context for gender inclusion, explores the evolution of intentional gender inclusion in economic market systems programming since 2008, outlines proven approaches to influence and facilitate private sector engagement, and describes supplementary time-bound approaches to promote and support inclusive market systems change that benefits women. It concludes with a set of guiding principles for inclusive market systems, presenting concepts that are fundamental to our understanding of gender inclusion. -
Editorial: COVID-19 economic resilience
01.06.2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the gaping inequities in market systems the world over while it has exacerbated those inequities without mercy. As I write this editorial, my own sore recently injected arm reminds me that there is massive disparity even in access to vaccines among countries and within countries. And, as always, it is the most marginalized that carry the burden of suffering – vulnerable women, extreme poor households, informal workers, communities with minority status, people with disability, youth living on the edge. -
Women’s economic empowerment and COVID-19: the case of vulnerable women with intersectional identities in Indonesia and Vietnam
01.06.2021
In recent decades, ASEAN has seen significant progress in gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, advances have not been even and vulnerable women with a range of intersectional identities have not benefited to the same extent as more privileged women or their male counterparts. Moreover, despite ASEAN’s much-lauded success in COVID-19 prevention and containment, the economic gains that had been achieved for women and girls are rapidly losing ground. Disruptions in the tourism sector, labour migration, and international trade have had a devastating economic impact on vulnerable populations, while innovations and new implementation approaches have provided some relief for low-income communities. This paper describes the COVID-19 economic fallout for women homeworkers and labour migrants engaged in informal jobs in Indonesia and low-income ethnic minority women in agriculture and tourism sectors in north-west Vietnam. It discusses early experiences and learning on pivoting projects, funded by the Government of Australia, to be COVID-19 responsive and contribute to longer-term recovery. -
Editorial
01.12.2021
Exciting times for Enterprise Development and Microfinance (EDM) journal! Over the past two years, EDM has transitioned to a completely online publication and, as of January 2022, will be Open Source. -
Editorial: A ‘Just Transition’–a meaningful movement or rhetoric that has been co-opted for other purposes?
01.09.2022
The phrase ‘Just Transition’ has roots in the 1990s American trade union movement, arising from the concern for workers’ welfare with a transition out of fossil fuels; a transition that could leave workers jobless and without transferrable skills despite years of undertaking potentially hazardous work. The term was coined by one of the movement’s leaders, Tony Mazzocchi, who fought for the guarantee that workers would not have to pay for clean air and water with their jobs, their living standards or their future (quoted in Nguyen, 2022). By 1997, the Just Transition Alliance was formed and continues today, with a key objective to shift toward ‘a sustainable economy that does not compromise people and our environment, one that is driven by those at the frontline and on the fencelines of unsustainable production’ (Just Transition Alliance, n.d.). -
Final Editorial
01.12.2022
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Crossfire: The poorest cannot be helped by any of our current models of economic development from graduation approaches to market development
01.06.2012
In our regular debate between two experts, Crossfire invites Ben Fowler and Linda Jones to argue the case surrounding including the poorest in our models of economic development. -
Editorial
01.03.2012
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