A comparative study of financial inclusion indicators in selected African countries
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Date
2017
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Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Abstract
Financial inclusion is regarded as a tool for poverty reduction and economic growth. To this end, African countries are working towards the dividends of financial inclusion. This is evidenced by different policies introduced to foster financial inclusion and the resultant increase in the financial inclusion indicators. In spite of the improvement in the indicators, the extent of financial inclusion is still low compared to other developing regions such as Asia. The study examines financial inclusion indicators in five African countries using descriptive statistics and further compare the level of improvement in each of the countries. The comparison revealed that South Africa recorded more growth in it' financial inclusion indicators compared to other countries in the study. Overall, the study concludes that the level of financial inclusion has improved in the region. The study, therefore, recommends that more efforts be put on policies that enhance the growth of financial inclusion indicators in Africa and the introduction of new policies that will strengthen the weak areas.
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Keywords
Financial Inclusion, Indicators, African countries