Social finance
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Social finance

Social Finance is using financial instruments to promote Decent Work. It means finance - sustainable finance - with a social goal. It is about credit, savings, insurance and other products that help the poor to cope better with risk, take advantage of income-generating opportunities, organize and have a voice.

Social Finance is also about promoting and encouraging those institutions that cater to the financial needs of the working poor, including women groups and small and medium enterprises that create jobs.

Social Finance is about financial sector policies that set incentives to open up the financial to the working majority and create an enabling environment in which microfinance institutions can operate. The Programme addresses three major goals: reducing vulnerability and increasing access to risk management tools, creating jobs through enterprise development, and making financial policies more employment-sensitive.

What's new

  1. Webinar on “Review of TC projects with a social finance component: Inventory results and overview from the field”
    Organised by the Social Finance Programme
    January 2012

    Do you want to know how many active TC projects from the whole ILO portfolio have a social finance component?
    Do you want to know where the projects with a social finance component are geographically located?
    Do you want to know which are the technical units using most social finance tools and instruments?
    To share this information (and more), hear from the field specialists, draw on the current experiences and try to make social finance components in ILO TC projects more effective, the Social Finance Programme organised a webinar on the 18th of November 2011, to share the findings of an inventory of around 700 projects that were reviewed and analysed to identify the ones with a social finance component and extract the relevant information. It had been recorded and is accessible here. So connect to the recorded webinar to understand the broad use of social finance schemes across the house and their relevance to achieve ILO mandate. Please do share with us your insights and experiences in order to identify ways  to improve together general practices on social finance's intervention in TC projects in the ILO.

  2. A business case for microinsurance: an analysis of the profitability of microinsurance for five insurance companies
    Janice Angove and Nashelo Tande (Quindiem Consulting), Microinsurance Innovation Facility - Briefing Note nº9, ILO, June 2011

    Is there a business case for microinsurance? Under what circumstances can insurance companies generate profits from microinsurance? These are important questions because insurers are increasingly interested to expand into the low-income market. To encourage this expansion, microinsurance initiatives need to demonstrate that they are commercially viable and sustainable over time. This note assesses the business case for microinsurance through case studies of five microinsurance initiatives.

  3. Small Premiums, Long-term Benefits: Why Poor Women Need Microinsurance
    05 March 2010

    15 years have passed since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing decided on a global platform for action on gender equality and women’s empowerment. For poor women in developing countries, microinsurance coverage is an important safety net, providing a powerful tool to protect their households and productive assets. ILO Online reports from Kenya where microinsurance represents a new frontier of economic and social development.

  4. Microinsurance that works for women : making microinsurance programs gender-sensitive
    01 October 2009

    Microinsurance Innovation Facility - Briefing Note 2

  5. The landscape of microinsurance in Africa
    01 October 2009

    Microinsurance Innovation Facility - Briefing Note 1

Key resources

  1. Microfinance and public policy. Outreach, performance and efficiency.
    12 November 2007

    This book states to aid agencies and governments to consider efficiency as a robust and reliable criterion to guide their decisions on whether continuing or discounting support from microfinance institutions (MFIS).

  2. Protecting the poor: A microinsurance compendium
    06 December 2006

    Essential reading for insurance professionals, practitioners and anyone involved with offering insurance to low-income persons, this volume covers the many aspects of microinsurance in detail including product design, marketing, premium collection and governance

  3. Making microfinance work. Managing for improved performance
    10 November 2006

    Microfinance has long been recognized as having significant potential to create jobs and reduce poverty. But to meet the twin challenges of growth and sustainability, managers of microfinance institutions (MFIs) must not only understand essential management functions: they must also be armed with innovative ideas and strategies to succeed in today's increasingly competitive environment.

  4. Guarantee funds for small enterprises. A manual for guarantee fund managers
    25 April 2005

    Explains how credit guarantee funds can facilitate access to finance for small enterprises and reviews the advantages and disadvantages of different models of funds. Provides guidance for guarantee fund managers on eligibility and risk sharing, operating procedures, marketing, pricing and accounting.

  5. Leasing for Small and Micro Enterprises. A guide for designing and managing leasing schemes in developing countries.
    24 July 2003

    Presents an illustration of the pros and cons of leasing to small and micro enterprises, including an overview of the risks for the financial institution.

  6. Making insurance work for microfinance institutions: A technical guide to developing and delivering microinsurance
    30 April 2003

    Provides a guide for managers of microfinance institutions (MFIs) on the design and operation of basic insurance products. Introduces fundamental insurance concepts, outlines the prerequisites needed for an MFI and describes the key features of five types of microinsurance products covering life and disability insurance. Explores operational issues involved in managing an insurance product, its control, outsourcing, and pricing.

  7. Introduction to microfinance in conflict-affected communities. A training manual
    03 December 2002

    Intended for staff of NGOs, donors, international organizations, and government programmes, describes how to provide financial services to people with low incomes in countries after violence, war, or refugee influx. Covers the selection of implementing agencies, design of microfinance programmes, their application, monitoring and evaluation, etc. Includes references to the literature and websites for further information.

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