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, thequestion arises whether banks in the regioncan meet the growing needs of people there.Banks can. According to the McKinsey GlobalBanking 2017 report, the African banking sector is among the most dynamic in the world, thesecond-best performing global banking marketin terms of growth and profitability as well as ahome 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.
Scale2Save
13/10/2023
Savings and Retail Banking in Africa 2022 WSBI survey of Financial Inclusion for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)
The Savings and Retail Banking in Africa report aims to help improve access to financial services for financially
25/09/2023
WSBI as a catalyst for unlocking the potential of female entrepreneurs
13 October 2023, 9.30am-12pm HĂ´tel Du Golf Rotana Palmeraie, Marrakech I Morocco
18/09/2023
WSBI’s MD Peter Simon opens the G20 side event panel “Gender equity and SME financing in a digital landscape” at the SME Finance Forum in Mumbai
The World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI-ESBG), with the substantial support of its Indian member, the State Bank of India
01/03/2023
The State of Savings and Retail Banking in Africa
The WSBI has conducted two research reports tracking the progress of retail and savings banks in their financial inclusion efforts across Africa (2018, 2019).
22/02/2023
Driving Formal Savings: What Works for Low-Income Women?
While financial inclusion is expanding globally, the gender gap in access to financial services and products persists
19/12/2022
What a journey it has been!
Between 2016 and 2022 Scale2Save financially included more than 1.3 million women, young people and farmers in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and
14/12/2022
The financial diaries revealed useful insights into young people’s savings, spending and income behavior
It examines their experience in respect to financial inclusion, support structures and opportunities for young entrepreneurs
09/12/2022
The Power of Community-Based Organizations to Mobilize Farmers’ Savings
In Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, cocoa is harvested twice a year, in May-June and in October-December. Between seasons, most smallholder farmers do not generate revenue
15/11/2022
How Can Small Scale Savings Be Offered Sustainably?
Learnings from the Scale2Save Program on successful business and institutional models
15/11/2022
Application of CGAP Customer Outcomes Framework in Uganda
This case study by WSBI's Scale2Save programme applied the CGAP customer outcome indicator framework to test the impact of a new basic savings product positioned in the financial inclusion market and…