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Fintech Applications for Boosting Climate Finance

Climate fintech—the intersection between climate change, financial services, and digital technologies—is playing an important role in attracting more investment into climate finance by leveraging innovative technologies, thereby addressing some financing barriers.

Podcasts

Driving Change: Ipek Ilkkaracan on Why Investing in Care Pays Off
December 4, 2024

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up

The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) connects women economists worldwide and helps showcase their important empirical research, especially in developing countries. IMF Podcasts has partnered with the IEA-WE to produce a special series featuring the economists behind the invaluable local research that informs policymakers in places often overlooked. Driving Change kicks off this limited-run series from Turkey, with economist Ipek Ilkkaracan, who makes a strong business case for investing in social care infrastructure. Transcript

Other episodes include Kenyan economist Rose Ngugi, whose indices help local counties design policies that work, and Colombian economics Professor Marcela Eslava, whose research looks to fix Latin America’s dysfunctional social security network.

Special thanks to IEA-WE editor Navika Mehta for this collaboration.

Reforms amid Great Expectations: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Outlook
November 13, 2024

With sub-Saharan Africa soon to have one of the largest working-age populations in the world, removing barriers to business growth and encouraging higher productivity industries will help provide the employment opportunities it needs. But reforms don’t come easy. Wenjie Chen and Andrew Tiffin are economists in the IMF’s Africa Department and produce the Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, they say addressing development needs while realizing reforms that create sufficient jobs will help garner public support and improve regional prospects. Transcript

Global Financial Stability: Financial Markets Navigate Uncertainty
October 22, 2024

As inflation and interest rates continue to decline and the likelihood of a recession slowly fades, financial markets have seen big equity gains. But the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) warns of several factors that could upend the recovery, including the apparent disconnect between market buoyancy and heightened uncertainty, especially related to geopolitical risks. Jason Wu and Nassira Abbas lead the IMF’s work on financial stability. In this podcast, they say while the near-term risks appear contained, medium-term prospects remain a concern. Transcript