An Investigation into the Level of Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Published in: Scientific Annals of Economics and Business Vol. 66; no. 1; pp. 41 - 63
• Main Authors: Abdulmumin, Biliqees Ayoola, Etudaiye-Muhtar, Oyebola Fatima, Jimoh, Abdulrasaq Taiye, Sakariyahu, Ola Ridwan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi 01.03.2019; The Publishing House of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi; Sciendo; Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iaşi / Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi Publishing house
• Subjects: Economy; financial inclusion; financial inclusion index; Public Finances; Socio-Economic Research; Sub-Saharan Africa; Supranational / Global Economy; financial inclusion index; financial inclusion; SubSaharan Africa
• ISSN: 2501-1960; 2501-3165; 2501-3165
• DOI: 10.2478/saeb-2019-0004

Financial inclusion is crucial for redistribution of economic resources between the deficit and surplus units in an economy. Despite the importance of financial inclusion, especially for economic growth of developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevailing level financial inclusion remain an open question. Against this background, this study investigates the level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2015. This study employs secondary data obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The data obtained was subjected to Principal Component Analysis to determine the level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings show that Sub-Saharan Africa has a medium level of financial inclusion during the observed period with Index of Financial Inclusion (IFI) value of 0.095023. The study concludes that Sub-Saharan Africa has high propensity to achieve a high level of financial inclusion in the region if more outlets of financial institutions are established.