Defy Institute

To leave no one behind, finance has to reach everyone.

Defy Institute promotes inclusive finance as a key enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals. We map why people are excluded and design services with them. We lead programmes for international agencies, foundations and charities, and launch social businesses with impact investors.

Work with usRead our research
Why inclusive finance

When finance reaches people, many goals move at once.

The UN Capital Development Fund describes financial inclusion as an enabler of broader development goals. Access to savings, credit, insurance and payments supports targets on poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, decent work, small enterprise, inequality and strong institutions.

1.3 billion

adults in the world still have no account at a bank or a mobile money provider.

World Bank, Global Findex 2025

  • 1

    No poverty

    Target 1.4

    Equal rights to economic resources and access to financial services.

  • 2

    Zero hunger

    Target 2.3

    Small food producers reach land, finance and markets.

  • 3

    Good health and well-being

    Target 3.8

    Financial risk protection for health care.

  • 5

    Gender equality

    Target 5.a

    Women gain equal rights to economic resources and financial services.

  • 8

    Decent work and economic growth

    Targets 8.3 and 8.10

    Small businesses grow and banking, insurance and financial services reach all.

  • 9

    Industry, innovation and infrastructure

    Target 9.3

    Small enterprises reach affordable credit.

  • 10

    Reduced inequalities

    Target 10.c

    Remittances cost migrants less than 3 percent.

  • 16

    Peace, justice and strong institutions

    Target 16.4

    Illicit financial flows fall significantly.

Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations.

What we do

We work in the field, from the first question to the result.

A group of people standing together on a rooftop above a city at sunset
Systemic Action Research

From the drivers of exclusion to a blueprint.

Exclusion rarely has a single cause. We map the ecosystem of drivers behind it, from people’s behaviours to the rules, institutions and technologies around them.

Each study ends with a blueprint. It sets out the behaviours, policies and technologies needed to reach a better state.

The blueprint guides what the Inclusion UX Lab designs, and the programmes and social businesses we launch.

  • System mapping
  • Blueprints
  • White papers
An older couple looking at a tablet together and smiling
Inclusion UX Lab

Designed with the people who will use it.

Our lab tailors financial services to specific underserved communities. Women running a business from home. Migrant workers sending money to their families. Young people building their first financial record.

We design each journey with them, test it in their language and on the phones they use, and hand it to the providers who will run it.

  • Community research
  • Service design
  • Usability testing
Two staff members in aprons smiling behind the counter of a café
Social Venturing & Programmes

From programmes to social businesses.

We lead inclusive finance initiatives and programmes on behalf of international agencies, foundations and charities. We set up each programme and its governance, bring in local partners and technology, and steer delivery with the community.

Where a service should continue on its own, we launch and operate it as a social business funded by impact investors.

We report the results against the Global Goals each programme serves.

  • Programme management
  • Social business launch
  • Impact reporting
Who we work with

For the organisations that fund and deliver development.

  • Impact investors

    We bring impact investors social businesses that serve excluded communities, built on field evidence and run by an experienced team.

  • International agencies

    We give international agencies a partner that leads their inclusive finance programmes in the field.

  • Foundations

    We provide foundations with a team that turns their grants into programmes people use, and reports what changed.

  • Charities

    We bring charities services their communities can use to save, borrow, insure themselves and get paid.

How we work

Four steps from question to result.

  1. 01

    Map

    We map the system behind exclusion with the community and the organisations that serve it.

  2. 02

    Design

    The Inclusion UX Lab designs and tests services with the people who will use them.

  3. 03

    Lead

    We lead the programme for our partner. Where it should last, we launch a social business.

  4. 04

    Share

    We publish what worked and what did not, so others can build on it.

Publications

What we learn, we share.

  • White paper · 2024

    Reaching the UnderservedA White Paper on Circular Financial Identity and Circular Digital KYC

    Imagine having no way to prove who you are. This paper shows how a financial identity that grows with every transaction can open formal finance to the people it leaves out.

    Download PDF (PDF, opens in a new tab)
  • Litepaper · 2024

    Impact BankingRedefining Wealth in the Modern Era

    What if every bank account could help fund the Global Goals? This litepaper shows how banking can let everyday customers grow their wealth and do good at the same time.

    Download PDF (PDF, opens in a new tab)
  • White paper · 2025

    From Access to ImpactAdvancing Inclusive Finance for a Resilient and Equitable Future

    Accounts now reach remote villages, yet too few lives have changed. This paper makes the case for inclusive finance as a market of its own, with the business models, rules and infrastructure to deliver real impact.

    Download PDF (PDF, opens in a new tab)
  • Article · 2025

    Circular Financial IdentityThe Missing Piece for Financial Inclusion

    Amina dreams of opening a tailoring shop, but she has no financial record. In ASEANForward, Eelee Lua shows how a financial identity that grows with its owner can open the door.

    Read the article (PDF, opens in a new tab)
Work with us

Bring inclusive finance to the communities you serve.

Tell us who you serve and what you want to change. We will come back to you.