DIGITALIZATION AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN AFRICA

Abstract

The ineffectiveness of economic development policies over the past few years has been largely due to the exclusion of the population from participating in wealth creation. This is probably the main source of income inequality. To remedy this problem and bridge the gap, technological innovation and financial digitalization are effective tools for development actors. This paper aims to assess the impact of the digitalization of financial services on financial inclusion using panel data from 48 African countries over the 2011- 2017 period. Our results show that mobile money and digital payments have a positive and significant impact on bank account penetration, access to credit and savings mobilization. However, the digital inclusion process is hampered in many countries by the dearth of Internet servers, the lack of infrastructure and lengthy administrative procedures.