Harnessing AI to advance financial inclusion

📅 Published: August 15, 2025

📰 Source: theindependent

Curated by AllZimNews.com

According to GSMA Association (GSMA), the sub-Saharan Africa region is at the epicentre of mobile money on the continent, with 835 million registered accounts.

These represent nearly 50% of the global share of US$2,5 billion transactions daily in 2023.

The GSMA is a non-profit trade association that represents mobile network operators worldwide.

This represents 19% year-on-year growth and accounts for two thirds of global transaction values.

Camil Bennani Smires, in an article entitled How Digital Wallets have Transformed the lives of Millions in Africa, highlighted that Africa continues to be the world’s leader in mobile banking.

The disparity between cell phone penetration and financial inclusion has resulted in significant growth in Africa’s digital wallet market, allowing users to manage their money without access to a formal bank account.

According to World Bank data, just 54% of African adults have a bank account.

Cell phone penetration in the region reached 61% in 2023.

It is the transition from informal to formal financial management that has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for Africa’s unbanked and underbanked.

In this installment, we look at how AI can be harnessed for product development in order to advance financial inclusion by Zimbabwean non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).

AI offers Zimbabwe’s NBFIs a path to broaden financial inclusion while preserving prudent risk management, transparency and regulatory alignment.

For Zimbabwe, where informal credit, mobile money and agent networks dominate the financial landscape, AI is key in  helping NBFIs design more accessible credit products, deliver affordable payments, support small-scale rs and tailor micro-insurance, agriculture and even health offerings.