IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jecstr/v13y2024i1d10.1186_s40008-023-00326-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of network coverage on adoption of Fintech and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Onkokame Mothobi

    (University of the Witwatersrand, Tayarisha, Wits School of Governance
    University of Botswana)

  • Kago Kebotsamang

    (University of Botswana)

Abstract

Digital finance plays a major role in improving access to, usage and quality of financial services in developing countries. The use of these platforms has been associated with a positive impact on economic growth and people’s welfare. They allow for convenient, secure, and efficient transaction and are the crucial element of e-commerce. In this paper, we analyse the effect of mobile network coverage on adoption of financial technologies and financial inclusion using a survey data of 12,735 individuals from nine sub-Saharan African countries conducted in 2017. By combining survey data with information on the proximity of mobile network towers, we estimate a two-stage model. In the first stage, consumers decide to adopt a technology device, and in the second stage, they decide whether to use digital financial services or not. Results show a significant and positive relationship between network coverage and adoption of digital financial services. Considering that the whole population lives within 2 km radius from the LTE tower, financial inclusion would increase by 6% in Mozambique and 3% in Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal. In Tanzania, where mobile money is the common financial service, investment in GSM and UMTS would have a larger impact on financial inclusion than LTE. These results show that digital financial technologies such as mobile money, mobile banking and e-wallet, that do not necessarily require consumers to be connected to the Internet have a greater impact on financial inclusion in East African countries, where financial service innovations are mobile led. However, in countries where digital financial innovations are bank led, LTE coverage have a greater impact than GSM and UMTS coverage. The findings of this study can help policy-makers to understand the issues related to the expansion of digital financial services and effective strategies to deliver these services to the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Onkokame Mothobi & Kago Kebotsamang, 2024. "The impact of network coverage on adoption of Fintech and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecstr:v:13:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s40008-023-00326-7
    DOI: 10.1186/s40008-023-00326-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40008-023-00326-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40008-023-00326-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dale W. Jorgenson & Mun S. Ho & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2008. "A Retrospective Look at the U.S. Productivity Growth Resurgence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    2. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    3. Fungáčová, Zuzana & Weill, Laurent, 2015. "Understanding financial inclusion in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 196-206.
    4. Allen, Franklin & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Klapper, Leora & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2016. "The foundations of financial inclusion: Understanding ownership and use of formal accounts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-30.
    5. Matti Pohjola, 2002. "The New Economy in Growth and Development," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 380-396.
    6. Peterson K. Ozili, 2018. "Impact of digital finance on financial inclusion and stability," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 18(4), pages 329-340, December.
    7. Jalava, Jukka & Pohjola, Matti, 2002. "Economic growth in the New Economy: evidence from advanced economies," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 189-210, June.
    8. Conrad Murendo & Meike Wollni & Alan De Brauw & Nicholas Mugabi, 2018. "Social Network Effects on Mobile Money Adoption in Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(2), pages 327-342, February.
    9. Gutierrez, Eva & Singh, Sandeep, 2013. "What regulatory frameworks are more conducive to mobile banking ? empirical evidence from findex data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6652, The World Bank.
    10. Mandira Sarma, 2016. "Measuring Financial Inclusion for Asian Economies," Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance, in: Sasidaran Gopalan & Tomoo Kikuchi (ed.), Financial Inclusion in Asia, chapter 1, pages 3-34, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Isaac Mbiti & David N. Weil, 2013. "The Home Economics of E-Money: Velocity, Cash Management, and Discount Rates of M-Pesa Users," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 369-374, May.
    12. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521747387, October.
    13. Joel L. Horowitz & N. E. Savin, 2001. "Binary Response Models: Logits, Probits and Semiparametrics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 43-56, Fall.
    14. William Jack & Adam Ray & Tavneet Suri, 2013. "Transaction Networks: Evidence from Mobile Money in Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 356-361, May.
    15. Van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & Van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1981. "The demand for deductibles in private health insurance : A probit model with sample selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-252, November.
    16. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2018. "Impact of Digital Finance on Financial Inclusion and Stability," MPRA Paper 84771, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    18. Honohan, Patrick, 2008. "Cross-country variation in household access to financial services," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2493-2500, November.
    19. Alfonso Flores‐Lagunes & Kurt Erik Schnier, 2012. "Estimation of sample selection models with spatial dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 173-204, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher Green & Fei Jiang, 2020. "Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion And Development: A Review With Reference To African Experience," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 753-792, September.
    2. Zhao, Yang & Goodell, John W. & Dong, Qingli & Wang, Yong & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul, 2022. "Overcoming spatial stratification of fintech inclusion: Inferences from across Chinese provinces to guide policy makers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Shahid Manzoor Shah & Amjad Ali, 2022. "A Survey on Financial Inclusion: Theoretical and Empirical Literature Review," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(4), pages 310-330, December.
    4. US Thathsarani & Jianguo Wei & GRSRC Samaraweera, 2021. "Financial Inclusion’s Role in Economic Growth and Human Capital in South Asia: An Econometric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Weidong Chen & Xiaohui Yuan, 2021. "Financial inclusion in China: an overview," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Foguesatto, Cristian Rogério & Righi, Marcelo Brutti & Müller, Fernanda Maria, 2024. "Is there a dark side to financial inclusion? Understanding the relationship between financial inclusion and market risk," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2022. "Financial inclusion in Nigeria: an overview," MPRA Paper 113572, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Nkambule, Maxwell Banele, 2022. "The financial inclusion status of rural households in Eswatini," Research Theses 334766, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    9. Badeeb, Ramez Abubakr & Wang, Bo & Zhao, Jun & Khan, Zeeshan & Uktamov, Khusniddin Fakhriddinovich & Zhang, Changyong, 2023. "Natural resources extraction and financial inclusion: Linear and non-linear effect of natural resources on financial sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    10. Francisco Jesús Gálvez-Sánchez & Juan Lara-Rubio & Antonio José Verdú-Jóver & Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez, 2021. "Research Advances on Financial Inclusion: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    11. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Financial inclusion research around the world: a review," MPRA Paper 101809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Murshed, Muntasir & Ahmed, Rizwan & Al-Tal, Raad Mahmoud & Kumpamool, Chamaiporn & Vetchagool, Witchulada & Avarado, Rafael, 2023. "Determinants of financial inclusion in South Asia: The moderating and mediating roles of internal conflict settlement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Yue, Pengpeng & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Yin, Zhichao & Zhou, Haigang, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    14. Gallego-Losada, María-Jesús & Montero-Navarro, Antonio & García-Abajo, Elisa & Gallego-Losada, Rocío, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion. Visualizing the academic literature," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Ronald Kumar, 2014. "Exploring the role of technology, tourism and financial development: an empirical study of Vietnam," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2881-2898, September.
    16. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Financial inclusion: a strong critique," MPRA Paper 101813, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Rahmanda Muhammad Thaariq & Arif Anindita & Hafizha Dea Iftina, 2021. "The Internet Miracle: The Impact Of Internet Access On Household Saving In Indonesia," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 24(2), pages 255-282, June.
    18. Hayder M. Kareem Al-Duhaidahawi & Jing Zhang & Mustafa S. Abdulreza & Sinan Abdullah Harjan & Sayyed Sadaqat Hussain Shah, 2019. "The Role of Financial Inclusion and Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Iraqi Islamic Banks," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(3), pages 193-199.
    19. Raksmey, Uch & Lin, Ching-Yang & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2022. "Macroprudential regulation and financial inclusion: Any difference between developed and developing countries?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Rigzin Yangdol & Mandira Sarma, 2019. "Demand-side Factors for Financial Inclusion: A Cross-country Empirical Analysis," International Studies, , vol. 56(2-3), pages 163-185, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital finance; Digital technologies; Financial inclusion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jecstr:v:13:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s40008-023-00326-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.