Dilemma of financial exclusion and inlusion in Africa: Can Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana be compared?

Abstract

This paper investigates the level of financial inclusion and exclusion in selected African countries with special attention to Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana in a comparative approach. The study utilized global survey data on financial inclusion index published by Global Findex. From the researcher‟s comparative analysis using the basic variables of financial inclusion, it was discovered that: in terms of financial service accessibility, bankable adult Nigerians have less access to financial services than South Africa while the degree of financial services availability and financial service usage are all higher in South Africa than Nigeria and Ghana. The implication of these findings is that South Africa is more financially inclusive than Nigeria and Ghana; indicating that greater percentage of Nigerian and Ghanaian bankable adult citizens are financially excluded from their economy irrespective of the various banking reforms in the two countries. It was recommended among other suggestions that an all-embracing financial inclusion strategy that is rural based be developed for Nigeria and Ghana as well as reduction in the cost of banking and financial services (especially lending and deposit rates in Africa). The implication of these recommendations is that in Africa (and even other continents) the higher the deposit rate, the more people are willing to save and the lower the lending rate the more people are willing to get loans. The study submitted that by hierarchy of financial inclusion in Africa, Nigeria and Ghana with their present high level of financial exclusion cannot be compared to South Africa in all the key indicators of financial inclusion.

Do Digital Finance and the Technology Acceptance Model Strengthen Financial Inclusion and SME Performance?

“…The availability dimension under the FI concept determines the capabilities of a company in terms of technology choice, market access and access to necessary resources that significantly contribute to the enhancement of the business. Nkwede [37] showed a significant association between financial availability and business performance, especially in developing countries. Availability of various financial services assists in performance, sales growth and productivity, according to a study by Harrison et al [38].…”

Impact of financial inclusion on economic growth: review of existing literature and directions for future research

“…The study found a negative effect of financial inclusion and trade openness on economic growth in Zimbabwe. Nkwede (2015) examined whether financial inclusion promotes economic growth in Nigeria from 1981 to 2013. The study found that financial inclusion has a significant negative impact on economic growth in Nigeria.…”

“…By this, we mean that some of the models in the literature are very sensitive to small changes in model assumptions or sensitive to a change in one or more explanatory variables (e.g. Adeoye and Alenoghena, 2019; Nwafor, 2018; Nkwede, 2015, etc.). The nonrobustness of the models used in these papers is due to incorrect model specification.…”

“…OLS, 2SLS, GMM, panel fixed effect, etc.) Gul et al (2018), Makina and Walle (2019, Elsevier), Van et al (2021, Taylor & Francis), Emara and El Said (2021, Elsevier), Chatterjee (2020, Taylor & Francis), Younas et al (2022, Elsevier), Ozili (2021b, Emerald), Ifediora et al (2022, Taylor & Francis), Ain et al (2020), Silue (2021) Significant positive effect Adeoye and Alenoghena (2019), Nwafor (2018), Nkwede (2015) Significant negative effect Table 3.…”

“…There are also outlier problems where the actual values of GDP are modeled against unit explanatory variables expressed in percentage. These issues need to be addressed by using accurate model identification, specification and robust estimation techniques that are insensitive to small Singh et al (2021, Wiley), Onaolapo (2015) Growth in GDP per capita Ratnawati (2020), Emara and El Said (2021, Elsevier), Chatterjee (2020, Elsevier), Gul et al (2018) Real GDP per capita Nizam et al (2020), Lenka and Sharma (2017, JSTOR), Wakdok (2018), Van et al (2021, Elsevier) Gross domestic product Sharma (2016, Emerald) Real GDP Nkwede (2015) Table 4.…”