Financial sector development and financial inclusion in Africa: gaps, challenges and policy options

Financial inclusion and financial development are now evident in the African countries that have embraced digital financial services and diverse products being introduced in the market. Recent data show that most Africa economies are improving their financial inclusion strands as well as supporting strong banks with huge deposits that allow them future capacity to grow, intermediate and innovate. To foster and sustain financial sector development and financial inclusion in Africa, several policy and institutional reforms are required to be addressed. These include effective regulation, an enabling and innovative regulatory environment and robust consumer protection regulations, need to address the key enablers of mobile and internet connectivity, interoperability of retail electronic payments platforms, market conduct and competition are challenges that require feasible solutions, improvement in the identity system (electronic-ID system) to cope with market innovations and secure the market, need to fine tune policies to reduce the financial exclusion of women and youths and need for the African governments to support the development of the capital markets to enhance intra-Africa trade, and increase investment opportunities for both domestic and foreign investors.