International Monetary Fund African Department Financial Development, Financial Inclusion, and Growth in Africa ECOWAS Regional Conference, Dakar, Senegal, Roger Nord Deputy Director African department IMF Outline 1. Financial ca development eop e and growth 2. Financial inclusion in Africa 3. The role of technology: Lessons from Kenya 4. Policy implications Dakar, Senegal 1
Financial development has supported growth and reduced its volatility in sub- Saharan Africa Long-Term Impact on GDP of Relaxing Financial Constraints Percent change in GDP 25 20 15 10 Reducing borrowing constraints Reducing participation costs Increasing intermediation efficiency 5 0 Kenya Mozambique Nigeria Uganda Zambia CEMAC WAEMU Sources: Dabla-Norris and others (2015); IMF country staff reports; and IMF staff calculations. Note: CEMAC = Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa; WAEMU = West African Economic and Monetary Union. 3 Access varies significantly across SSA Account at a formal financial institution(% age 15+), 2014 Account used to receive wages (% age 15+), 2014 Source: Findex. Dakar, Senegal 2
The Role of Technology: Mobile Financial Services have significant potential in sub-saharan Africa Roughly 1 billion people have a mobile phone but no bank account (CGAP) SSA Africa leads the way fin the adoption of mobile banking Mobile banking helps reach the unbanked 70 Percent of population, age 15+ 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Burundi Mauritius Togo Guinea Cameroon Congo, Rep. Benin Nigeria Burkina Faso Malawi Niger Madagascar Sierra Leone Senegal Gabon Congo, Dem. Rep. Namibia Mali Zambia Ghana South Africa Rwanda Botswana Zimbabwe Côte d Iv oire Tanzania Uganda Kenya 5 The Role of Technology: Lower transaction costs Mobile money use has expanded rapidly thanks to low transaction costs. 6 Dakar, Senegal 3
Case study: Kenya The Rapid expansion of transfers Kenya shows one of the highest share of population with access to financial services after South Africa to a large extent because of the success in making mobile-phone payments available to its population. Regional Comparison of Financial Access South Africa 2013 79 5 16 Kenya 2016 75 7 17 Namibia 2011 70 3 27 Zimbabwe 2014 69 8 23 Lesotho 2011 61 20 19 Botswana 2009 59 8 33 Tanzania 2013 58 16 26 Uganda 2013 54 31 15 Swaziland 2011 50 13 37 Nigeria 2012 Ghana 2010 Malawi 2014 Zambia 2015 43 41 40 38 17 15 14 21 40 44 46 41 0 20 40 60 80 100 Formal Informal Financially Excluded 7 Case study: Kenya was rapidly followed by other services The number of deposit accounts (million) and net loans and advances (Ksh billion) have increased too 8 Dakar, Senegal 4
Promoting financial inclusion through innovation Leveraging IT to Expand Services Mobile phonefacilitated micro payments New framework for payments (including taxes, utility bills, etc) Customers can save, earn interest and access small loans Platform for new products (insurance products, consumer finance) 9 Promoting financial inclusion through innovation Facilitation factors Rapid expansion of mobile phone use Willingness to penetrate new markets Exploit technology for service improvement Design of government policies Allowed parallel payment system Secured customers funds More financial products to low income HH 10 Dakar, Senegal 5
Promoting financial inclusion through innovation Innovative Financial Instruments : Support Infrastructure Credit Reference Bureaus Reducing cost of doing business - Build information capital, reduce information search costs and problems associated with information asymmetry; and extending credit based on financial identity. This allows change in the collateral technology in use. So far CBK has licensed 3 credit reference bureaus. Consumer Protection The missing link in financial inclusion and innovation encouraging transparent disclosure, fair treatment, dispute resolution and financial education/awareness and costs. 11 Conclusions Financial inclusion: critical role in sustainable development, reducing poverty, boosting shared prosperity Technology offers significant scope for rapidly expanding access to financial services, notably for households and SMEs Governments should focus on providing a supportive regulatory framework, ensuring competition among providers, and educating & protecting customers. 12 Dakar, Senegal 6
Thank you! www.imf.org Dakar, Senegal 7