Survey: Development sector must invest more in financial inclusion

The World Bank, USAID, and other global development institutions need to invest more to expand access to financial services, particularly among women, according to a survey Devex conducted of its community members. The survey, which was conducted in March and polled nearly 900 development professionals, showed that about two-thirds of respondents believe that the world’s development institutions are making a mistake by not doing more on issues related to financial inclusion, which they believe is crucial to making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. These are 17 targets that United Nations member states agreed in 2015 to reach by 2030. They include the elimination of poverty and hunger and achieving gender equality. Sixty-seven percent of Devex survey respondents said major development agencies are not investing enough in financial inclusion, while 33% said they are investing enough. And this is a particularly big issue when it comes to women’s financial inclusion, survey respondents said, with 85% saying they either “strongly” or “somewhat” believe that ensuring women “have full access to financial tools like payments, investments, and insurance is an under-appreciated approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” Two of the keys to improving financial inclusion are improving trust in related services and reducing their cost. Improving trust was particularly important among Africa-based respondents, 63% of whom said trust is “extremely important.” The major barriers to financial inclusion that survey respondents identified are cost of access and lack of demand from consumers, along with limited financial and digital literacy. To break down those barriers, survey respondents point to the need for strengthened policies to support financial inclusion, new partnerships between fintechs and development groups, and improvement of financial literacy among target populations, among other things.