There were 495 million people subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2020. It represents 46% of the region’s population. Despite such high smartphone and internet penetration, and a stupendous anticipated growth – an additional 167 million subscribers are expected to be added over the period to 2025 – the access to useful and affordable financial products and services, such as transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance, is dismally low in the African continent.

The SACCOs and MFIs of Africa are riddled with problems arising out of the lack of infrastructure and IT. If these small financial institutions wish to scale up and cater for more customers, they need technology adoption. Unfortunately, this comes with heavy capital investments, including license and AMC cost, infrastructure cost and cost of maintenance.

Because of their size and meagre balance sheets, the organisations cannot afford huge technology spends, and hence, continue to function incompetently. Even those who implement basic technological infrastructure do so with local systems that have severe limitations. As a result, the rural and poor households that depend on SACCOs and MFIs receive inferior services, or worse, remain unbanked.

The lack of financial inclusion is a persistent concern in African nations. It poses as a massive hurdle for sustained and inclusive economic development. As the divide between the banked and unbanked population increases, it pushes the poor into more poverty. It excludes rural and remote areas from being a part of the larger economic growth of the continent.

Financial inclusion has been identified as one of the key enablers for seven of the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations. It is now up to fintech companies to turn the tide in the favour of SACCOs and MFIs. This can be done by offering them reliable, state-of-the-art, but affordable technological solutions that can eradicate financial exclusion and accelerate growth.

It is here that our product, Co-Bank+ comes in. After its resounding success in India, Co-Bank+, provides support to Cooperatives, SACCOs, MFIs and similar small and medium financial institutions by significantly improving their business prospects. With hands-on assistance in both service outreach and relevant product offerings, Co-Bank+ online solution and mobile application make 100% financial inclusion an achievable dream for African countries.