News & Views magazine: Q3 2019
WSBI ESBG
Month: October 2019
This edition of WSBI-ESBG News & Views magazine looks at supporting local growth and development. The 44-page edition published in October 2019 provides expert comment and the latest ESBG position on helping communities.
Young people in Africa Research showing opportunities for financial service providers in Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal
Scale2Save Campaign
Micro savings, maximum impact.
Africa is young. Almost 70% of its people are estimated to be under 30 years of age. It faces a youth challenge, at a time when population growth elsewhere has already slowed or stalled.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, young people account for half of the remaining financial excluded, but they have been catching up fast. In Northern Africa, where demographic trends are more mature the young are a smaller proportion of the unserved. But they remain oftentimes still disproportionately unserved. Given this backdrop, young people in Africa can benefit from financial inclusion. Financial service providers can support them. Within the remaining excluded group one finds young adults living in the parental home. Transitioning into full adulthood, they are expected one day to become heads of household. Mid-teens and youth already set up businesses and find ways to save through digital means. All young people are more at ease with digital technologies than their parents. New initiatives can reach these unserved young people
Research found in this report looks at how younger sections of the population manage their money. Drawing upon data collected in the field, this study aims to find the best paths by which financial institutions can connect with young people. Data drawn from internationally recognised bodies and fieldwork feed the study’s quantitative research element. Qualitative research done through focus group discussions and working sessions enriches the information.
Young people in Africa Research showing opportunities for financial service providers in Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal
Scale2Save
Savings and Retail Banking in Africa | Results from 2018 WSBI member bank survey
Scale2Save Campaign
Micro savings, maximum impact.
Banks in Africa face unprecedented challenges. A demographic “youth bulge”, poor educational opportunity, and limited access to finance make the continent prone to economic malaise and societal struggle
Compounding these are digitalisation and globalisation, powerful forces that affect Africa’s 1.2 billion inhabitants in new ways. Like other regions of the world, Africa looks to financial institutions like savings and retail banks to help address most, if not all, of these obstacles at local level, in swelling cities and remote rural areas alike. Especially daunting for banks is Africa’s population, set to quadruple by century’s end. Among the many challenges that population growth will present is the need to serve peoples’ financial needs better at the macro level while connecting better with people at the micro level.
Given the population-driven future of Africa, the
question arises whether banks in the region
can meet the growing needs of people there.
Banks can. According to the McKinsey Global
Banking 2017 report, the African banking sector is among the most dynamic in the world, the
second-best performing global banking market
in terms of growth and profitability as well as a
home to significant innovation.
The question is how? The answer is offering products and services based on customer need that are usable, affordable, accessible and sustainable. While doing so, banks have to remain viable businesses that receive a fair return. A prime example is how best to offer much-needed low-balance savings accounts.
This report provides insight to help answer that question. The findings of this annual report on savings and retail banking in Africa provide a unique and useful analysis of what a sample of WSBI member banks face when it comes to small-balance savings accounts provision.
