THE ROLE OF DIGITAL INVESTMENT PLATFORMS IN FOSTERING SUSTAINABLE FINANCE: EXPERIENCE FROM THE FINTECH ECOSYSTEMS OF EMERGING MARKETS

Abstract

This article investigates the potential of digital investment platforms to promote financial inclusion and sustainable finance in emerging markets. Despite the fact that technological advances in FinTech have enhanced retail investors' participation, no empirical evidence is provided for how they enhance sustainable capital formation and ESG-supportive investment. Paper contributes to the debate on how digital platforms can facilitate access for all consumers to sustainable financial products and enhance long term investment sustainability. Utilising a multi-method research design that combines survey data from inexperienced investors in emerging economies and interviews with FinTech providers as well as policy makers, the analysis will be timely for impacting the current public policy debate. Hypotheses relationships between digital access, financial literacy, trust, ESG integration and sustainable investing behaviour are analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Thematic analysis complements statistical findings reveal that ease of use, digital trust and transparency of ESG have significant effects on sustainable investment adoption. Nonetheless, the impact of platform availability on long (5and greater) versus short-term portfolio survival rates is partially mediated by financial literacy. Findings indicate regulatory coherence and data openness are the two most important drivers of inclusive sustainable finance. This study contributes to the digital finance literature by associating FinTech-enabled inclusion with empirically measurable sustainability impacts in emerging economies, and provides analytical and policy inputs.