Financial Inclusion Week 2025: Building Resilience in Health and Education
The world is changing fast—and to keep up, people and systems need more than access. They need resilience. From economic shocks to climate change, and political instability, global challenges are testing how we respond and recover. That’s why building strong, inclusive financial systems matters more than ever. These systems must do more than offer services; they must help people prepare, adapt, and thrive.
This year’s Financial Inclusion Week explored exactly that question: How can innovation help families build real resilience and well-being?
As a long-standing leader in this space, Opportunity International joined global experts to share lessons, challenge assumptions, and highlight new ideas shaping the future of financial inclusion.
Financing the Future: Innovative Solutions for Early Childhood Care and Education
Early childhood is a critical period in a child’s development, yet for millions of families in low- and middle-income countries, quality childcare and early learning remain out of reach.
Nearly 60% of children in low-income countries lack early learning, and 72% of children under age 3 receive no formal childcare. As public systems reach their limits, private and community groups are stepping in. Affordable non-state schools and early learning centers play a key role in reaching communities where governments cannot keep pace.
Yet these providers face major challenges, especially accessing the financial and operational support they need to grow and improve quality.
When designed for early learning institutions, tailored financial products and targeted technical assistance can strengthen these schools and expand access to quality early childhood education.
Andrew McCusker, Opportunity’s Head of Education Finance, led a conversation on investing in early childhood with Julius Mcharo (Victoria Finance) and Opportunity Senior Technical Assistance Advisor Jane Aik to explore how innovative financing models can bridge the gap for non-state providers.
Watch the session:
Reimagining What's Possible: Health and Financial Inclusion Through Women's Voices
In our second session, we asked a simple but important question: What does it really mean to be healthy? Global health programs often define health as only the absence of disease. That narrow lens misses the deeper links between health, financial inclusion, and resilience—especially for women.
Dr. Morseda Chowdhury, Opportunity’s Global Health Technical Lead, led a discussion exploring how women living in extreme poverty define good health and well-being in their own lives.
Global leaders Sitara Merchant Carter (SCBP), Professor Olga Biosca (Yunus Centre for Social Business & Health), and Dr. Neeta Rao examined the challenges and opportunities before the global health sector. They warned that programs often rely on measures created far from the communities they serve and called for women-led evaluation methods built with local health workers across Asia and beyond.
By listening to women’s voices and experiences, the group explored bold new approaches for defining and measuring physical, financial, and overall health. They showed how inclusive financial services can help women strengthen their families’ health and build long-term resilience.
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Intentional Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion must go beyond access to accounts or credit. From financing early childhood education to improving health and resilience in women, Opportunity International is helping families build their own paths to prosperity.
Whether from microfinance, academia, or the humanitarian sector, our panelists all agree: there is tremendous potential ahead for the industry, and even greater opportunity for the millions we serve around the world. We remain committed to leading with evidence, partnership, and the voices of those we serve. That is the future of financial inclusion—and it’s the future we are working to build every day.