In addition to clinical biologists (and probably their assistants), every development-research enthusiast nowadays is fairly familiar with the term ‘Randomized Control Trials’ or RCTs, as they are fondly known. Since their inception in the early 2000s, RCTs have influenced research … Read More

Small businesses are often hubs of entrepreneurship, employment and innovation, thereby playing a crucial role in the socio-economic development of any nation. In a much appreciated move, the United Nations (UN) general assembly on recently designated 27 June as Micro, … Read More

Technology is disrupting the traditional banking and finance landscape in India, across a spectrum of services – credit, payments, savings and insurance. In this article, Prachi Agarwal profiles some upcoming fintech companies that are finding solutions to a variety of traditional … Read More

How can emerging economies tap into the benefits of big data for financial inclusion? This article draws on a panel discussion on Big Data, hosted by IFMR LEAD and BRAC at the What Works Global Summit 2016 in London recently. … Read More

Despite efforts from all quarters, 2 billion people globally are still excluded from formal sources of financial services. Digital financial inclusion has emerged as the new wave in the hope that it will reach the last mile consumer in the most … Read More

This is the second article in a series on the progress of digital financial services in Bangladesh. It draws on discussions held at a recent seminar on the subject, organized by BRAC’s Social Innovation Lab in Dhaka, in collaboration with a2i, and USAID’s mSTAR project … Read More

Growth of the self-help group movement in India has slowed in the past five years. How can challenges be overcome to improve and revitalize these programs? In this article, Misha Sharma and Shreya Chatterjee from our research team highlight findings from … Read More

This article shares preliminary findings from an ongoing study by IFMR LEAD, Evidence for Policy Design at the Harvard Kennedy School and Duke University, on access to finance in rural Tamil Nadu. Happy Birthday Pudhuaaru KGFS, and if we may … Read More

This article is part of a series of Blogposts on the progress of digital financial services in Bangladesh. It draws on discussions held at a seminar on the subject in Dhaka in April 2016. The seminar was organized by BRAC Social Innovation Lab, … Read More