In an attempt to deepen financial inclusion, microfinance organizations are introducing digital solutions to serve low-income households and small- and medium-sized enterprises. Mobile financial services and fintech solutions are particularly promising in Africa where financial inclusion is only 43 percent, whereas mobile phone penetration is almost 90 percent. Such solutions show promise: In Kenya, for example, mobile financial services—specifically mobile money—contributed to increasing financial inclusion from 26.7 percent to 82.9 percent between 2006 and 2019.
Mobile financial services can increase impacts of microfinance organizations—but the story is more complicated than we think (Cecilia Värendh Månsson, Brookings)
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