Publication:
Blockchain in Financial Services in Emerging Markets, Part I: Current Trends

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (834.58 KB)
1,154 downloads
English Text (42.98 KB)
86 downloads
Date
2017-08
ISSN
Published
2017-08
Editor(s)
Abstract
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 value across the entire financial value chain. Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is just such a disruptive, and possibly game-changing, innovation. Emerging markets are in general characterized by low banking penetration, the exit of financial players from certain markets, strong demand for financial inclusion both from individual consumers and small businesses, high levels of mobile penetration, and less developed business infrastructure and financial sector incumbents. These conditions in combination can be a powerful catalyst for the adoption of blockchain-based financial solutions and can provide the basis for a technological leap forward and a boost to financial inclusion and growth.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Niforos, Marina. 2017. Blockchain in Financial Services in Emerging Markets, Part I: Current Trends. EMCompass,no. 43;. © International Finance Corporation. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30369 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
  • Publication
    Banking on FinTech in Emerging Markets
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2022-01) Rose Innes, Cleo; Andrieu, Jacqueline
    Despite near-universal access to financial services in advanced economies, financial exclusion is stubbornly persistent in many emerging markets, leaving huge swaths of low-income populations unbanked or underbanked. FinTech companies, which apply innovative technologies to deliver such services in new ways, have begun to tap into the enormous unmet demand that this represents. These companies are starting to thrive in emerging markets, though regulatory issues, particularly weak consumer protection measures, remain to be resolved in many countries. If these can be overcome, and more progress toward universal access to digital infrastructure can be made, FinTechs will continue to scale and spread.
  • Publication
    Financing Deep Tech
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10) Nedayvoda, Anastasia; Delavelle, Fannie; So, Hoi Ying; Graf, Lana; Taupin, Louise
    Deep tech companies - those built on advances in biotechnology, robotics, electronics, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies—aim to solve complex social and environmental challenges. Today the majority of deep tech companies are being launched in developed countries, yet the solutions they can provide are applicable globally. Many of these solutions are especially critical to emerging markets, as the intractable challenges of climate, health, and connectivity, among other issues, disproportionately affect these nations. Addressing these challenges is a strategic priority for development finance institutions and governments worldwide, so financing deep tech companies and boosting deep tech ecosystems in order to deliver new solutions globally is a pressing matter. Doing so, however, requires substantial capital and carries a higher degree of risk than ordinary venture investments. This note examines the process of financing a deep tech company, including the benefits and drawbacks of currently available types of financing, and suggests examples of promising but not yet widespread alternatives.
  • Publication
    Sustainability-Linked Finance
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2022-01) de la Orden, Raquel; de Calonje, Ignacio
    Sustainability-linked finance is designed to incentivize the borrower’s achievement of environmental, social, or governance targets through pricing incentives. Launched in 2017, it has now become the fastest-growing sustainable finance instrument, with over $809 billion issued to date in sustainability-linked loans and bonds. Yet these instruments are still nascent in emerging markets, which represent only 5 percent of total issuance to date. This note shares examples of recent sustainability-linked financing, including several involving IFC in various roles, to highlight how investors can utilize these new instruments in emerging markets and mitigate greenwashing risks
  • Publication
    Enabling Private Investment in 5G Connectivity in Emerging Markets
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2021-04) Houngbonon, Georges V.; Rossotto, Carlo Maria; Strusani, Davide
    This note proposes a high-level framework to assess challenges and policy options to enabling private sector-led investment in 5G connectivity in emerging markets. 5G is the latest mobile network technology and it has the potential to provide high-speed Internet connectivity and enable digital transformation across multiple sectors of an economy. The proposed framework leverages industry data to articulate the digital divide and benchmark the enabling environment for 5G connectivity in emerging markets. The note concludes with recommendations on policy options and business strategies, drawing from early experiences in advanced markets and major opportunities and challenges in emerging markets.
  • Publication
    Blended Concessional Finance
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2021-07) Karlin, Arthur; Sierra-Escalante, Kruskaia
    Blended concessional finance, the combination of commercial finance from the private sector and development finance institutions (DFIs) with concessional finance from public and other sources, is increasingly being used by DFIs to support developmentally important projects where normal DFI or commercial finance is not available because of the high risks involved. This can be especially significant in lower-income and fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), where risks are high and innovative and pioneering projects can be critical to economic growth, market creation, and poverty reduction. Blended concessional finance is also being used during the COVID-19 pandemic to help sustain struggling businesses hurt by demand and supply shocks, and to rebuild economies toward green, resilient, and inclusive growth. As blended concessional finance involves the use of concessional public or philanthropic1 funds to enhance the viability of private sector projects, strong processes, particularly in the areas of transparency, access, and governance, are necessary to ensure that these resources are used effectively and without distorting markets.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Blockchain in Financial Services in Emerging Markets, Part II
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-08) Niforos, Marina
    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 financing, are an ideal backdrop for the adoption of blockchain-based financial solutions, and benefits could include a technological leap forward and a boost to financial inclusion and growth. This note focuses on selected regions in emerging markets where distributed ledger technology is already affecting the provision of financial services, including Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
  • Publication
    Blockchain Governance and Regulation as an Enabler for Market Creation in Emerging Markets
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2018-09) Niforos, Marina
    Developing a proper governance and regulatory framework for blockchain-based applications will be essential to providing market participants the stability they need to fully engage with the technology and allowing innovation to flourish. Given the global, multi-sectoral reach of blockchain, regulators, and industry will have to work in a collaborative manner to ensure they can both experiment and learn, and so shape the future of the technology in a way that benefits all parties and society as a whole.
  • Publication
    Blockchain in Development, Part I
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-07) Niforos, Marina
    Blockchain is an exciting new technology that may prove to be a radical innovation - similar to technologies such as the steam engine and the Internet that triggered previous industrial revolutions - with the power to disrupt existing economic and business models. It has the potential to deliver productivity gains to multiple industries, from the financial sector to energy markets, supply chains, intellectual property management, virtual firms, the public sector, and beyond. Its ability to provide disintermediation, improve transparency, and increase auditability can significantly reduce transaction costs, introduce efficiency into existing value chains, challenge revenue models, and open new markets. And blockchain may prove particularly valuable in emerging market economies. Yet the technology is in its early stages of development and serious challenges and risks, both technical and regulatory, will need to be addressed before it achieves widespread adoption. Questions remain about blockchain’s scalability, interoperability, security, transition costs, data privacy, and governance. And business leaders and policy makers will need to think long and hard about when and under what conditions a blockchain initiative may be warranted.
  • Publication
    Blockchain in Development, Part II
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-07) Niforos, Marina
    Blockchain is an innovative new technology with the power to disrupt existing economic and business models, as discussed in EMCompass note 40. Blockchain also has enormous potential for emerging markets. These nations appear poised for a more rapid adoption of blockchain, though a framework is needed to assess how the technology can be deployed and which applications and use cases are likely to be seen in the near future. While the potential of blockchain is great, the technology is still at an early stage of development and will need to overcome potential setbacks - technical, regulatory, and organizational - before it becomes mainstream. In such a context of uncertainty, companies in emerging markets can neither afford to wait until the outcome is evident nor expose their existing business models to overly risky wholescale blockchain initiatives. Instead, they will need to adopt an experimental approach that allows them to develop options and thereby learn in the process, inform their strategies, and improve their value propositions.
  • Publication
    Block Chain
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C., 2017-11) Niforos, Marina; Ramachandran, Vijaya; Rehermann, Thomas
    The six chapters that follow provide an overview of the technology (chapter one) and its unfolding applications in emerging markets (chapter two). Chapter three examines whether blockchain can be used to mitigate de-risking by financial institutions. Chapters four and five look more closely at the financial services sector, including an overview of how blockchain affects plays into the wider spectrum of financial technology (fintech) innovations and the resulting provision of financial services (chapter four), and an analysis of blockchain’s contribution to reaching the unbanked and underbanked in various emerging markets, including in Latin America, Asia and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (chapter five). Finally, Chapter six looks ‘beyond fintech’ and explores how developments in applied blockchain technology can impact agribusiness, drug safety and more generally provide enforcement tools to promote the reach of sustainable and inclusive business. These chapters are merely the beginning of an exploration. Sound use cases for blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies are yet to be validated. As money pours into the latest novel technology, it is important to distinguish hype from reality, and to avoid assuming validation due to investments made under the ‘fear of missing out,’ a popular Silicon Valley investment decision heuristic. The enduring value of blockchain’s accelerated investment cycle may be that it has fostered intense experimentation and focused attention on the fundamental nature of ledgers, transactions, counterparty connectivity, and the role of trust.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    World Development Report 1995
    (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) World Bank
    This eighteenth annual report assesses what a more market-driven and integrated world means for workers. It asks which development strategies best address workers' needs, and what domestic labor market policies can do to establish a more equitable distribution of income, greater job security, and higher workplace standards, while preserving and indeed enhancing the efficiency of labor markets. The report concludes that global integration holds out the prospect of tremendous future gains for the world's work force - but no guarantees. Sound domestic and international policies are indispensable for realizing the promise of a prosperous, integrated global workplace. Policies that rely on markets while avoiding or correcting market failures, that invest in people[A[B, that provide a supportive environment for family farms as well as emerging industrial and service sectors - all these are good for workers. Governments continue to exercise important functions: building and maintaining the social framework within which workers, unions, and firms interact to set wages and working conditions; supporting workers who are hurt when industries or whole economies suffer major shocks; and defending the rights of the most vulnerable workers, whether they be child laborers victimized by exploitation, or women or ethnic minorities suffering from discrimination. In those economies that are less prepared to face global competition - in particular, those emerging from central planning - public action has a particularly important role in promoting labor mobility, easing the cost of transition, and reaching those left out. This report includes the World Development Indicators.
  • Publication
    Argentina Country Climate and Development Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank Group
    The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    Remittances: Development Impact and Future Prospects
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005) Maimbo, Samuel Munzele; Ratha, Dilip; Maimbo, Samuel Munzele; Ratha, Dilip
    Remittances explores policy options for enhancing the poverty alleviation impact of remittance money in recipient countries, and addressees concerns about increasing migration and inequality. It looks at new technologies that allow remittance service providers to reduce direct transaction costs and open new channels, enhancing convenience for remitters and improving levels of transparency and accountability for regulators and policy makers. Importantly, it also establishes a baseline for further research and collaborative effort, showing the areas where the international financial institutions, particularly the World Bank, can add value to enhance the positive impact of remittance flows and minimize less welcome effects.
  • Publication
    Asset Recovery Handbook : A Guide for Practitioners
    (World Bank, 2011-01-18) Gray, Larissa; Brun, Jean-Pierre; Scott, Clive; Stephenson, Kevin M.
    The handbook is organized into nine chapters, a glossary, and ten appendixes of additional resources. Chapter one provides a general overview of the asset recovery process and legal avenues for recovery, along with practical case examples. Chapter two presents a host of strategic considerations for developing and managing an asset recovery case, including gathering initial sources of facts and information, assembling a team, and establishing a relationship with foreign counterparts for international cooperation. Chapter three introduces the techniques that practitioners may use to trace assets and analyze financial data, as well as to secure reliable and admissible evidence for asset confiscation cases. The provisional measures and planning necessary to secure the assets prior to confiscation are discussed in chapter four; and chapter five introduces some of the management issues that practitioners will need to consider during this phase. Confiscation systems are the focus of chapter six, including a review of the different systems and how they operate and the procedural enhancements that are available in some jurisdictions. On the issue of international cooperation, chapter seven reviews the various methods available, including informal assistance and mutual legal assistance requests; and guides practitioners through the entire process. Finally, chapters eight and nine discuss two additional avenues for asset recovery-respectively, civil proceedings and domestic confiscation proceedings undertaken in foreign jurisdictions.