​The OPEC Fund for International Development plays a crucial role in supporting farmers in developing countries. Some of the organization’s initiatives deploy strategic applications of technology to increase crop yields, manage pests, and improve general operations and profitability.

The fund supports initiatives that integrate modern farming techniques to boost crop yields. Projects include improving water management systems through technologies like drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and efficient irrigation methods. It funds the adoption of farm machinery, including tractors, tillers, and harvesters, to enhance productivity and lower labor costs. Additionally, it promotes the use of tools like drones, GPS, and sensors to optimize planting, fertilization, and pest control, which can improve yields and reduce environmental harm.

The fund also helps improve access to markets by investing in rural infrastructure, such as roads, cold storage, and market centers, to reduce post-harvest losses and transportation challenges. It encourages the use of digital platforms to connect farmers with buyers, provide market insights, and enable online transactions.

The fund supports programs that promote drought-resistant crop varieties and sustainable land management practices to address climate change challenges. These initiatives include agroforestry and conservation agriculture to protect soil health and prevent erosion.

The OPEC Fund for International Development equips farmers with tools and knowledge to enhance productivity and strengthen their livelihoods. These efforts contribute to improved food security in developing communities.

​Financial inclusion refers to providing individuals and businesses access to affordable and reliable financial services such as payments, credit, savings, and insurance. According to researchers and finance professionals, inclusive financial systems may help reduce poverty and enable economic growth.

Access to these financial services allows people to manage daily expenses, save for emergencies, invest in education or business ventures, and mitigate risks. Financial inclusion also fuels innovation, expansion, and job creation in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Nonetheless, about 1.7 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked, often due to barriers such as high costs, limited financial literacy, and technological disparities. These challenges disproportionately affect underserved communities, hindering their ability to participate in the economic system.

Overcoming these challenges requires collective action from governments, financial institutions, and technology providers to implement policies, invest in financial education, and leverage technology. Solutions like mobile banking and fintech platforms have proven instrumental in reaching underserved populations.

​Blockchain technology offers small businesses tools to improve security, enhance supply chain visibility, and streamline payment cycles. By recording transactions in linked “blocks” that form a secure, tamper-proof chain, blockchain provides transparency and efficiency. These benefits have prompted businesses of all sizes to adopt blockchain to enhance operations and decision-making.

The blockchain’s transparent transaction records build trust between parties that may be unfamiliar with each other, removing the need for intermediaries. This reduces delays and simplifies business transactions, making processes faster and more efficient.

Unlike centralized systems, the blockchain shares data across an ecosystem involving various parties such as distributors and suppliers. By distributing control, blockchain fosters trust in transactions and ensures no single entity dominates the decision-making process.

The blockchain also supports peer-to-peer payments, eliminating fees from financial intermediaries. Businesses with international customers can use blockchain networks for direct, rapid money transfers, with automatic currency conversion. By automating tasks like reporting, auditing, and data collection, the blockchain reduces reliance on third-party vendors and associated costs.

Automation powered by the blockchain enhances efficiency and reduces human error. When combined with artificial intelligence, the blockchain can handle routine tasks such as customer support, inventory management, and invoicing. For small businesses with limited staff, automating these processes saves time and alleviates operational pressure.

​US financial institutions tend to overlook small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) until they grow larger. This approach misses a valuable opportunity to support businesses during critical growth stages. Early-stage SMEs often need tailored financial services that can help them gain an industry footing and market share, positioning banks as key partners in their growth.

McKinsey's 2023 survey estimates that small-business banking generates roughly $150 billion in annual revenue for the US banking sector, accounting for around 17 percent of the industry’s revenue. This includes services like loans, deposits, cards, cash management, and merchant services. Targeted solutions for SMEs can expand this potential further. According to the survey, SMEs want their primary financial providers to offer additional tools, such as accounting and payroll, which many banks currently lack.

A related study shows that while SMEs prefer banks to provide these services, they spent over $530 billion in 2020 on third-party providers for accounting, bill payment, invoicing, and payment processing. Open banking can help banks integrate these services, offering SMEs more complete financial solutions and strengthening customer retention. This integration requires real-time connection between core banking platforms and supportive systems.

Expanding SME support services is an untapped revenue stream. By using open banking data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), banks can better understand SME needs and provide relevant services. This strategy can improve SME trust, foster long-term relationships, and help banks maintain competitive advantages while addressing the market inroads made by newer financial players.

​Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often have different needs than larger commercial organizations. SME decision-makers tend to rely more on personal experiences when setting professional expectations, while larger companies typically follow established organizational guidelines. In response, banks must adapt their digital services to remain competitive with other service providers, such as online retailers and payment platforms.

Advancements in banking technology, data analytics, and customer relationship management can provide a more personalized and engaging service model than traditional relationship management approaches. Banks should recognize that SMEs often have different decision-making dynamics than larger organizations, which are typically more detached from individual customer expectations. This consumer-oriented approach is key to understanding and serving the SME market effectively.

When choosing a banking partner, customer service quality and client loyalty are important considerations for SMEs. While factors like branch location and online service offerings are significant, SMEs often prioritize customer service. Despite this, SMEs generally remain loyal to their banks, only considering switching to more favorable pricing or improved digital services.

Although SME decision-making behaviors and needs can vary significantly depending on the organization and industry, banks often address these preferences through a relationship-managed service model, which may still be effective in some situations. However, digital tools can offer a more comprehensive solution to these challenges. Technologies such as automated meeting notes, AI-driven data mining, digital assistants, integrated relationship-manager workbenches, and proactive scheduling tools can help banks better meet SME needs.

​Digitalization is enabling the agricultural sector in the developed world to improve crop yields, fine-tune crop strains, and access better economic opportunities. However, farmers in developing nations have often been left behind. The Ricult Farmer App aims to change this.

Developed by teams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ricult operates in Pakistan and Thailand. The app offers smallholder farmers free access to weather updates, satellite imagery, pest management tools, and measurement aids, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). It also helps farmers secure loans for urgent needs.

According to co-founder Aukrit Unahalekhaka, around 400,000 farmers in Thailand have signed up to access the Ricult Farmer App. The platform has also increased farmers’ income by at least 50 percent. Ricult is often compared to a robo-advisor for its range of features.

Additionally, RicultX, another platform, enables farmers to monitor harvests and create yield forecasts. It also interacts with satellite imagery maps to improve decision-making based on prediction models.

​In June 2024, CBZ Bank Limited, the largest banking institution in Zimbabwe, signed a breakthrough agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in the Bahamas. The money supplied comes in two tranches, with Afreximbank extending a $60 million line of credit, as well as an Afreximbank Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF) facility valued at $20 million.

The line of credit will ensure that CBZ Bank and its financial intermediaries have robust funds in support of small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) and their capacity building efforts. With export-focused SMEs able to readily access investment capital, they will boost foreign exchange earnings and reduce pressure on foreign currencies within the country.

The funds are essential in ensuring economic continuity at a time when many international banks are reluctant to release loans to Zimbabwean institutions. The AFTRAF facility allows CBZ Bank to extend lines of credit to SMEs in an environment where confirming banks are in short supply.

In addition to promoting exports, the facilities will provide a boost to imports of critical products such as drugs, fertilizers, and fuel, which are essential to social welfare and the ramping up of export industries. Another aspect of CBZ Bank's plan involves increasing the accessibility of funds through affordable mobile banking platforms, which promote an overarching goal of financial inclusion for the traditionally underbanked.

​The banking sector is integral to the modern economy. Banks supply the necessary credit people need to fund everything from business equipment and operations to personal items such as vehicles, homes, or a specific lifestyle.

It’s common knowledge that banks keep depositors’ money, while earning some interest on it. This enables them to play the role of an intermediary facilitating the flow of funds between savers and borrowers. From this privileged position, banks can significantly impact stability, growth, and development.

Being an essential conduit of credit between those who save money and borrowers who need it in the form of loans allows room for efficient capital allocation within the economy. This lending activity stimulates economic activity because the borrowers spend the funds the banks provide, creating demand for goods and services.

Another way banks drive economic growth is by creating credit. Regulators empower banks to loan several times the total amount of funds in their deposit base, resulting in an expanded money supply. This so-called money multiplier effect leads to increased levels of consumption, higher economic activity, and more jobs.

Banks also finance investments for long-term economic growth, empowering businesses for capital expenditure. Such investments contribute to productivity growth, technological advances, and the creation of new industries.

As banks fund economic activity, they also contribute to economic stability through risk management. They ensure borrowers are credit-worthy and diversify their (the banks’) loan portfolios to mitigate the risk of loan defaults. This prevents financial crises, and sustains public confidence in the banking system.

It’s also important to highlight the role of banks in payment systems, making the exchange of goods and services possible. Commerce and economic growth depend on the availability of efficient payment systems. Reliable and secure payment options enable banks to contribute to the overall efficiency of the economy.

​McKinsey & Company’s 2023 American SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) survey found that the domestic banking industry has a 17 percent share of small-business banking. However, many experts say that banks could do a much better job of meeting customer needs in this sector.

SMEs present a higher lending risk than established corporations, so banks have historically reluctantly worked with them. To take advantage of the SME sector's growth opportunities, McKinsey recommends taking a “digital-first approach with a personal touch.” Artificial intelligence (AI) and embedded finance (integrating financial services into nonfinancial services and apps) are among many important digital tools in the banking sector.

The software development service provider Intellect Soft echoes this sentiment, claiming that “FinTech innovations” can generate value for SMEs. These innovations range from algorithms that assess creditworthiness to rapidly vet loan applications to online interfaces customized to meet each customer's unique demands. Forbes magazine presents the example of a Canadian bank employing AI modeling to give SMEs a constantly updated picture of their financial health.

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FinTech, the marriage of finance and technology, is rapidly reshaping financial landscapes across the globe. In developing markets, it holds immense potential for financial inclusion - bringing unbanked populations into the financial fold through mobile money, digital lending, and other innovative solutions. However, this rapid change presents a challenge for regulators. Striking a balance between fostering innovation and protecting consumers from potential risk requires a nuanced approach.

Traditional regulations, designed for brick-and-mortar institutions, often struggle to encompass the diverse and agile nature of FinTech companies. This can stifle innovation and hinder financial inclusion goals. Developing economies, however, cannot afford to ignore potential risks like money laundering or data breaches.

Regulators can navigate this complex terrain by beginning with regulatory sandboxes. These designated spaces allow FinTech companies to test their products in a controlled environment with relaxed regulations. This fosters innovation while mitigating risk.

Another key aspect of impactful regulation is risk-based supervision. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, regulators can tailor their oversight based on the size, complexity, and risk profile of each FinTech company.

Collaboration between regulators, industry players, and consumer protection agencies is also necessary to develop clear and adaptable regulations that promote responsible innovation.

The path ahead requires a forward-thinking approach. By embracing regulatory innovation and fostering collaboration, developing economies can harness the power of FinTech to unlock financial inclusion and economic growth, while safeguarding the financial system and its citizens.