Browsing: Financial Inclusion

As far back as June 28, 2017, This Day Live said another point to note is that USSD is very important within emerging economies, where the cost to access data services is increasing. Despite the growth of smartphone penetration and 3G/4G coverage, the data access cost is a key factor in deciding how information is consumed.

Meanwhile, the continued reliability of USSD will enable mobile service providers and financial institutions more opportunities to satisfy new market segments, add more value to the customer, and meet underserved customer needs.

In a related article by Myriad Connect published January 29, 2018, the core benefit of USSD is that it doesn’t rely on a data connection to operate, thereby helping reach the billions of people in areas where network coverage is at its most basic or for sectors of the population for whom a data connection is too expensive to access.

So long …

Nigeria’s Access Bank and the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) have signed a commitment letter for a $280 million financing to assist in tackling the gap in financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).…

In Nigeria, where an estimated 38 million people, or 36% of adults, remain financially excluded, the government has set a target of 95% financial inclusion by 2024. 

While this may seem like an ambitious goal, that will require institutions to re-strategize initiatives and policies to accelerate the delivery of financial inclusion services, a lot of tech-backed firms are being developed in the West African country to help achieve this goal. 

Among them is Lagos-based FinTech unicorn Interswitch which seems to have heeded that call, leveraging its position as a market leader in digital payment services to bridge the massive financial inclusion gap and help bring as many people into the financial and economic fold as possible.…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has inked a massive grant agreement to the tune of $400,000 to modernize the regional financial market infrastructure in West Africa.

The funding is to be extended via the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) and among other things is meant to fund the creation of a digital platform to automate securities issuance for the regional financial market.

In a press release, the AfDB said the funding will also help reduce the holding period preceding subscription allocations and registration on the said digital platform.…

Hennessy-Barrett adds that tackling the finance gap is going to take a combined effort from across the financial industry.

He says there is a need for partnerships that can complement one another.

“We are actively signing up as many partners as we can across the supply chain to support micro and small businesses. By linking small store holders, distributors, vendors and investors, we can work together to construct the framework for inclusion and growth with the digital connective tissue to build high growth, an integrated economy in African markets. 4G Capital is in an incredibly exciting position as we develop and deploy new products and capabilities to scale to the vast and growing markets in Africa and other global emerging markets,” he notes.…

Africa’s Cashless Payment Revolution, According to World Bank data, more than two-thirds of Africa’s population has no access to the formal banking system. This is largely the direct result of challenges such as underdevelopment, financial illiteracy as well as a predominantly rural based population. 

These factors among others have led to a situation where banking is both inaccessible and overly expensive for the bulk of the population. Further, African economies are driven by an informally oriented economic climate; as a result, banking for many is not an option. 

This situation has prompted innovative approaches to avail financial services. Among the disruptions in financial services, there has been a rise of fintech to cater for payments outside of the banking system. Some of these include mobile money payment solutions and online payment/receipt platforms. 

Fintech Start Ups Attracting Investment 

This sector has become one of Africa’s fastest-growing in the digital …

Africa has more digital financial services deployments than any other region in the world, with almost half of the nearly 700 million individual users worldwide.…

Many investors are targeting the sector which has helped expand financial inclusion in Sub Saharan Africa.…