THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE FINANCE AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN ACHIEVING SOME SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The research addressed the importance of cooperative financing as a tool to enhance financial inclusion and achieve sustainable development, with a focus on international experiences in (Germany, Malaysia, and Bangladesh). The research problem was to study how to activate cooperative financing in Egypt to support financial inclusion, and the extent to which it can be applied in Egypt. The research relied on the descriptive analytical approach to study the concept of cooperative financing, in addition to the comparative approach to analyze the experiences of the three countries in cooperative financing. The research concluded that cooperative financing contributed to achieving financial inclusion and enhancing economic development in the countries under study, and that cooperative financing is an effective mechanism to enhance financial inclusion, as it contributes to providing easy financial services to marginalized groups not covered by the traditional financial system. In addition, cooperative financing contributes to achieving many sustainable development goals, such as eliminating poverty, promoting decent work, and supporting economic growth. The researchers recommended establishing cooperative banks in Egypt, similar to the German experience, to support small projects, expanding the scope of Islamic cooperative financing, as in Malaysia, to provide financing options compatible with Islamic law, also enhancing microfinance, as is the case in Bangladesh, to support the poor and achieve sustainable development, and finally developing legislation to support the growth of financial cooperatives and enhance financial inclusion in Egypt.