Strategies for optimising financial inclusion in South Africa

Abstract

An underlying premise of this study was that the formal financial sector has an important role to play in the process of assisting the development of South Africa’s disadvantaged communities, especially those living in poverty. The study explored the construct of financial inclusion and sought to understand what measures are being taken by South African financial services institutions to optimise financial inclusion. Through secondary data analysis, the study investigated instances of the construct in other geographies and sought to compare and contrast what was being done in those geographies, with what is being done in South Africa. The study concluded that while the lower segments of the market are relatively unchartered territory for South African financial services organisations, the strategies that are being employed to service these markets seem to be a combination of strategies that are being employed in other geographies around the world. Based on evidence from the analysis of the various geographies and face-to-face interviews with industry practitioners from some of the larger financial services organisations in South Africa, the study proposed some additions to the way in which product development processes are carried out within financial services.<p