About SFIDE

Supported by an EIBURS research grant for 2019-2022, SFIDE (Strengthening Financial Inclusion through Digitalisation in Europe) aims to identify innovative practices of inclusive finance supporting the growth and resilience of underbanked/unbanked self-employed, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Europe, with the assistance of the European Microfinance Network. It will also conduct a detailed analysis of the Dutch Microfinance institution Qredits. Furthermore, it will look at the German and Norwegian inclusive finance markets, alongside with the supporting academic - TU Berlin (Germany) and Nord University (Norway) and business partners - Triodos Bank, the Netherlands and Youth Business International, UK. Last but not least, the research will look at how an optimal balance is achieved between automation and face-to-face interaction to reach, advice, finance, and achieve long term impact for underbanked/unbanked individuals and entrepreneurs.

This report is part of the Work Package 1: Explorative case studies on innovative European inclusive finance organisations.

Key findings

The results show that the interaction between digitalisation and full sustainability starts to be visible in the business models of inclusive finance organisations. Nevertheless, they put in evidence that solving the tradeoffs between environmental sustainability and inclusive development is still not central for these organisations.