Financial Inclusion
“After three decades of innovation and unprecedented expansion of access to financial services for the underserved, leaders are now faced with a new question: how to leverage the potential of this broader financial access to foster entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and improve well-being”.
Harvard University, “Rethinking financial inclusion”, Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) Program. Retrieved June 2018.
Our
Expertise
Anecdotally, the popular perception appears to be that as being an advanced nation, Australia “does not have a problem with financial inclusion”.
The reality is different.
According to statistics published by the Centre for Social Impact, one in five Australian adults is considered “financially excluded” – i.e. “unable to access safe, affordable, and appropriate financial products/services when they need them”.
Overview
According to the US-based Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), financial inclusion is defined as:
“…a state where both individuals and businesses have opportunities to access, and the ability to use, a diverse range of appropriate financial services that are responsibly and sustainably provided by formal financial institutions”.
There are three aspects to this definition:
Adapted from: CGAP (2019)
Gen Advisory has the expertise to advise ADIs on the following aspects of financial inclusion:
Financial inclusion action plans (FIAPs)
Financial inclusion strategies
Microfinance
Root causes of financial inclusion
The needs of the
financially excluded
A systemic approach to financial inclusion