With the wide gap in access to formal credit for MSMEs in South and East Asia, micro-businesses often borrow from unreliable sources at exorbitant rates. Based on our Corner Shop Diaries research, this blog explores how and why corner shops take loans and the sources from which they borrow.

In Indonesia, 12,548 villages still lack access to 4G internet. This blog explores how Wi-Fi vouchers help diarists under our Corner Shop Diaries project and others in rural Indonesia access the internet.

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) expanded its social protection programs, including Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH)—its conditional cash transfer program, to support the most vulnerable sections of society during the pandemic. Our report explores the impact of COVID-19 on the beneficiaries and operational implementation of PKH during the pandemic.

This blog offers five key insights drawn from early data of our Corner Shop Diaries research in India and Indonesia.

The policy brief proposes recommendations to accelerate the implementation of e-KYC in Indonesia based on our previous report.

The study provides an analysis of the challenges in customer verification by banks and FinTechs. It also outlines policy recommendations to promote a public infrastructure for e-KYC.

This blog is the second of two blogs based on the MSC study. It provides recommendations for policymakers to improve the socio-economic and health outcomes for low and middle-income (LMI) segments.

This is the first of two blogs that highlights the insights from MSC study to understand the economic and health impact of COVID-19 on LMI ( Low and medium income) Indonesians.