Category: Finance

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a news conference after announcing that he will sign an order to seize Palestinian Authority funds and transfer them to the families of victims of Palestinian attacks, at Israel’s Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS) The Finance Ministry revised its growth forecast for 2024 […]

London, UK — HSBC Holdings plc, Europe’s largest lender, made headlines on Tuesday with the announcement of a substantial $3 billion share repurchase program. This decision comes on the heels of a third-quarter earnings report that surpassed analysts’ expectations, underscoring the bank’s robust financial performance driven by strong retail banking and wealth management services. Strong […]

Food security is among the top global development priorities. Like most of the pressing challenges faced by humanity today, food security is a complex and multidimensional problem as it implies making food available, affordable, nutritious, and produced sustainably. And, despite private investment growth in food systems during the past decade, the indicators that track these […]

Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, over 14 million people (almost a third of Ukraine’s population) have fled their homes, with an estimated 3.7 million people displaced internally and 6.5 million seeking refuge globally. The loss of homes and destruction of hundreds of medical and educational centers have gravely impacted people’s access to healthcare […]

Everyone loves a little drama – especially when it’s not our own.  Television programs are a great source of dramatic entertainment. We anticipate a new season’s release, watch each show with delight, and discuss them at length with our family and friends. Bridgerton, a widely popular English-language drama on Netflix, sparked conversations about racism, classism, […]

Latest relief under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program brings total loan forgiveness approved by the Administration to over $175 billion for more than 4.8 million Americans | Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education The Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of approximately $4.5 billion in additional student loan relief for over 60,000 borrowers across […]

Digital finance in Burkina Faso is relatively underdeveloped compared to other countries in the region. Still, despite this fact, the WAEMU Digital Financial Services Consumer Protection Lab’s national survey in Burkina Faso shows significant risks for users of digital financial services (DFS). More than three-quarters of Burkinabé respondents said they were exposed to at least […]

In Mozambique, the financial landscape is evolving, but one stark gap remains: women, especially microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers (SHF), are significantly less likely to access formal financial services than men. Despite strides in financial inclusion, women are still 12 percentage points behind.  In 2023 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in partnership with the […]

As we mark the 15th anniversary of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands’ work as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), CGAP CEO Sophie Sirtaine reflects on the significant strides the industry has made in advancing financial inclusion worldwide. Mobilizing action through global advocacy and country engagement Having global advocates […]

Russia is seeking to convince BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions when it hosts the group’s leaders at a summit next week. President Vladimir Putin is keen to build up BRICS – which has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab […]