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Social finance
Millions of people around the world are vulnerable and marginalized due to for example a lack of access to banking and insurance services. Traditional investment practices do not always adequately consider the social and environmental impact of financial decisions, further contributing to social inequality and environmental degradation.
The financial sector is an influential, yet underappreciated, player in the world of work. Investments, loans and insurance can be powerful drivers to create jobs, improve working conditions and enhance resilience.
The ILO engages with the financial sector to explore how it can contribute to decent work and social justice. Our engagement with the financial sector is three-fold, dealing with different sets of players in the financial sector: financial inclusion, impact insurance and sustainable investing.
Engagement with financial sector players
Financial inclusion
Impact insurance
Sustainable investing
Highlights
Call for proposals – Good Practices Guide on Responsible Earned Wage Access (EWA)
Call for proposals – Analysis of the financial system and its potential contributions to development objectives in Kenya
What is ESG and how is it related to the work of the ILO?
News and articles
Press release
ILO advances financial inclusion to strengthen Indonesia’s MSMEs and informal workers
When disaster strikes: How fire insurance protects lives and property in informal settlements
Highlighted publication
Social Finance 2024 Annual Report
Most recent publications
Banking for Decent Work: A Pathway to Impact
Case study
How strategic communications and partnerships are opening doors to new opportunities for women entrepreneurs in The Gambia
Case study
How gender-responsive banking solutions are boosting women-led businesses in Somalia
Projects
Project
Fostering an Enabling Environment for MSMEs to Promote Responsible Value Chains (FEE-RVC)
Targeting women in insurance
Project
Promotion of the Development of SMEs in Iraq
Thematic pages on social finance
Climate change and financing a just transition
Financial inclusion for refugees and host communities
Gender and financial inclusion
Finance and child labour
Financing the Social and Solidarity Economy
Financial services to enhance resilience
Blending of financial and non-financial services
Inclusive finance for workers
Access to finance and formalization
Innovative finance
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About the ILO's Social Finance Programme
Related topics
Cooperatives
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Multinational enterprises
Social and Solidarity Economy
Sustainable enterprises
Responsible business conduct