Meet the people adding $3.7 trillion to the developing world with financial inclusion

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Delivering financial services to the developing world’s unbanked people will add $3.7 trillion to the GDP of emerging economies within a decade, according to a recent report by McKinsey.

Some two billion individuals and 200 million micro, small and midsize businesses in emerging economies today lack access to savings and credit, while those with access must often pay high fees for a limited range of products. Bringing about financial inclusion is a collaborative effort from the level of central banks, cooperating in mobile money systems, down to micro-finance projects providing business loans to street vendors in sub-Saharan Africa.

For instance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a dedicated team for financial inclusion and digital innovation. Kosta Peric, the Gates Foundation’s deputy director of Financial Services for the Poor, said: “When I talk to banks, it’s a call to action, letting them know that financial inclusion can be a profitable business. It requires a different approach and a mix of new technologies, but has huge potential both on the country side and also for profit making private entities that are looking for new markets.”

Source: International Business Times (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Impact Assessment
Tags
Base of the Pyramid, microfinance