IFC and Mastercard Foundation release report on financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank based in Washington, US, has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to release a report regarding financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report has analysed joint projects targeting at digital financial services, covering 7mn users on the continent over a course of six years.

The ‘Digital Access: The Future of Financial Inclusion’ report notes the findings of the firms’ support for such work in the Partnership for Financial project, launched in 2012.

The companies worked with 4 microfinance institutions, banks, mobile network operators, and payments service providers across Africa in order to connect 7.2mn people to digital finance.

The report highlights the 250% growth in new digital finance users in the past six years, which have led to US$300mn being dedicated to transactions per month.

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Financial inclusion on the continent has grown from 23% in 2011 to 43% in 2017, with 10% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa have mobile money accounts, according to the World Bank Findex.

“Financial inclusion is one of Africa’s great success stories of this decade. Mobile money solutions and agent banking now offer affordable, instant, and reliable transactions, savings, credit, and even insurance opportunities in rural villages and urban neighborhoods where no bank had ever established a branch,” stated Philippe Le Houerou, CEO of IFC and Reeta Roy, and President of the Mastercard Foundation.

“The Partnership for Financial Inclusion has been an important actor in helping to drive financial inclusion in Africa,” stated Ruth Dueck-Mbeba, Senior Program Manager at the Mastercard Foundation.

“We’re proud of the work that our partner, IFC, has led over the past six years.”

“It has enabled millions of people to benefit from access to financial services.”

“More than that, the knowledge that we’ve gained will lead to millions more people improving their lives and their communities by being able to join the formal financial services sector.”