Below is an excerpt from Tilman Ehrbeck’s recent blog at the Huffington Post. Mr. Ehrbeck is a partner at the Omidyar Network. To read the full version, click here.

In the sustainable development priorities for the next 15 years adopted by heads of states in New York this week, the United Nations has highlighted financial inclusion as an important enabler for poorer households in the informal economies of the global south to increase resilience and better capture opportunities.

While I agree with the prominence of financial inclusion in the global development agenda, a general audience would be forgiven for asking questions like “Didn’t the reckless extension of unaffordable mortgage credit to low-income consumers in the U.S. start the global financial crisis of 2008?” or “Isn’t there significant doubt about the efficacy of the earlier microcredit efforts in developing countries?”

There are several clear reasons why the development community views financial inclusion as an important ingredient for economic and social progress [read more].