Financial Development and Financial Inclusion

Source details

Target Audience:
- Mid-level to senior officials from central banks and government agencies dealing with regulation of the financial sector.
Qualifications:
- Participants are expected to have a basic knowledge of economics or finance.
- Knowledge of econometrics is helpful but not required.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

Measure the degree of financial development and inclusion using a wide range of indicators and use benchmarking to compare a country to its peers.
Identify strategies and policies to support the development of financial intermediaries and capital markets in a country, considering initial conditions and links between the financial sector and the macroeconomy.
Understand the unique challenges that SMEs and households face accessing finance; describe how financial intermediaries can better tailor their products to the needs of the SMEs.
Evaluate the benefits and costs of different financial inclusion policies and identify strategies to promote financial inclusion for households and micro-enterprises.
Understand various uses of technology in the financial sector (Fintech) and how they could be used to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of financial services without generating financial instability.

Measurement and benchmarking:
- Use of a wide range of indicators to assess financial development and inclusion and peer comparisons.
Financial sector development:
- Strategies and policies for development of financial intermediaries and capital markets.
- Consideration of initial conditions and financial–macroeconomic linkages.
Access to finance for SMEs and households:
- Identification of barriers SMEs and households face.
- Product tailoring by financial intermediaries to meet SME needs.
Financial inclusion policy analysis:
- Evaluation of benefits and costs of different policies.
- Strategies to promote inclusion for households and micro-enterprises.
Fintech and digital finance:
- Uses of technology to improve efficiency and inclusiveness.
- Focus on avoiding financial instability from technological adoption.

The IMF offers online training to government officials and the public; this course is delivered online in French and spans May 1, 2026 - April 15, 2027 (50 weeks).