In a new in-depth study, ICED outlines how community finance organisations can help to overcome barriers to private-sector involvement in the development of informal settlements. Community finance can harness human and organisational capacity within settlements to address the difficulties and associated risks that deter lending, capital investment and large-scale delivery of infrastructure programmes. This paper presents successful case studies from India, Kenya and Thailand, where public bodies, private firms and community finance organisations have worked together to deliver affordable housing, infrastructure and services.