Agriculture is central to emerging market economies. In Africa it accounts for as much as 65 percent of employment and 32 percent of output. Globally, two-thirds of the world’s poor - some 750 million people - work in rural areas. But as economies expand and production shifts to manufacturing...

Correspondent banking relationships connect banks and people across borders and are critical to finance and trade. They are a vital link between emerging markets and the broader global economy. Yet efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism have increased compliance...

Private businesses and investors can create markets and accelerate growth for low-incomecommunities in emerging markets. In doing so, they benefit from estimates of poverty in thetargeted market segments they seek to serve. While national household surveys provide povertydata, they are often too...

At the heart of International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) approach to blended finance are efforts to create and help sustain private markets with strong development impact. This note explores the role of blended finance in creating markets and looks at lessons from three blended finance...

More than a billion tons of food are lost annually across global food supply chains. Spillage, spoilage, insects, and rodents cause this post-harvest loss. Addressing it is a daunting challenge due to the complexity of the many factors involved. But it is a worthwhile challenge because of the...

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is now disrupting the financial services industry as part of a larger wave of external innovations by digital financial technologies. Emerging markets, due to their higher banking risks, lower bank penetration, and greater presence of digital...

Financial institutions around the world find themselves continually barraged by external innovations they are often unable to absorb and internalize. The emergence of innovative digital financial technologies has challenged traditional players in the sector by demonstrating new ways to deliver...

One of the most noticeable and important developments of the advance of free trade over the last half century has been the emergence of global value chains. These production and supply networks cross multiple borders and connect advanced and emerging economies. They are vehicles that can deliver...

A digital transformation is taking place in the financial services industry, with a host of non-bank innovators offering both customer facing and back office financial technology products and services. This transformation includes emerging market economies, and in many places offers a viable...