The Fintech Dividend

Could financial technology (or fintech) mobilize the resources needed to make a world with no hunger to vibrant life on land a reality? Indeed, many view achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) as a problem of resource mobilization. Many countries have come up with a myriad of projects and schemes to promote the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda – a supposed action plan aimed at funding the SDGs. Yet, innovative finance (like fintech) seems like the best way to mobilize large amounts of resources quickly. The only catch? Governments can not do it alone.

Private sector financial institutions – and technology firms working with them – will need to find ways of developing the apps, services, and sticky platforms needed to draw funding toward profitable investments which also help encourage sustainable development. These new, online platforms and services, will need to draw resources from previously untapped savers – making inclusive finance an important part of any fintech for development story.