FinTech Innovations for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Future Directions

Uwakmfon Promise Offiong, Katarzyna Szopik‐Depczyńska and Giuseppe Ioppolo

Sustainable Development, 2025, vol. 33, issue S1, 1459-1471

Abstract: The integration of FinTech and sustainability is increasingly important due to the need for sustainable development and a greener economy. Blockchain, AI, and big data analytics are revolutionizing business, but their potential for advancing sustainable practices is understudied. To conduct a thorough analysis of the current body of literature about the role of FinTech innovations for sustainable development, pinpointing significant patterns, obstacles, and prospects within this ever‐evolving domain and identifying thematic clusters. In addition to filling knowledge gaps, this research will suggest future directions for investigation that will advance our comprehension of how FinTech might promote sustainable development. A comprehensive review (based on the publications indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases). The framework involves consolidating the literature using VOS viewer software to identify gaps extracted from primary literature on the topic under review to suggest future research directions. The review shows that through improving resource efficiency, lowering carbon footprints, and fostering accessible green products and services, FinTech innovations have a great deal of potential to advance sustainable development. Critical gaps in the literature are identified by the study, including the need for additional empirical research. The findings not only map the intellectual structure of the field but also provide a future research agenda aimed at guiding scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. What sets this review apart is its explicit focus on surfacing emerging and underexplored research gaps, including stakeholder co‐creation, gender disparities in FinTech access, scaling digital social entrepreneurship, and ESG integration in African contexts. Rather than summarizing known findings, this paper presents a narrative‐driven roadmap for advancing future inquiry. The findings contribute to both theory and practice by revealing how FinTech can more effectively support sustainable development through inclusive, targeted, and regionally adaptive innovation.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:s1:p:1459-1471

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