Financial and other services sectors in Africa

This study provides an overview of the operations and structure of the financial sector and other services sectors in Africa. We observe that the banking sector dominates the financial services sector in Africa. While the financial services sector performs many diverse but related functions, the professional services sector undertakes expert and technical roles, which support the operations of other sectors of the economy. Similarly, other service sectors include transportation and delivery, legal, health, educational, hospitality and entertainment, storage, and technological services provide inter-linkage mechanisms that harmonize the various sectors of the economy to create economic value. Additionally, while the contributions and challenges of the financial and other services sectors are also reported and discussed, empirical evidence backing the effects of professional and other services sectors on financial and economic outcomes are almost limited and the few that exist are based on theoretical and intuitive conclusions. This creates room for future research direction into exploring the effect of professional and other services sectors on economic outcomes in Africa. Additionally, given the numerous challenges identified, policymakers must make conscious efforts to address the many challenges which impede the effective and efficient running of the financial, professional, and other services sectors in Africa.