MEDIACLUBSA
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
financial markets; and an established broad deposit base.’
Banks, however, have to overcome a number of disadvantages,
such as market knowledge, a corporate culture and an incompatible
credit methodology, to name a few.
‘There is ongoing lobbying for the introduction of deposittaking MFIs. The banking industry, together with the microfinance
sector, can be positioned to best serve this entry-level market to
facilitate inclusive banking,’ Kuhlase explains.
Microfinance needs to be recognised as a vital part of the
financial system, dedicated mainly to meeting the needs of the
poor and vulnerable.
‘At the end of the day, microfinance is also banking. Microfinance
practitioners are of the opinion that it is the “concept of the future’,
which will change the architecture of the financial system to be
more inclusive. Success in building inclusive financial systems
hinges on the contributions of a wide range of actors and their
ability to work together effectively to deliver on inclusive finance,’
Kuhlase emphasises. ■
THE FRAMEWORK
Financial inclusion is about ensuring that individual
consumers (particularly low-income consumers) can, on a
sustainable basis, access and use financial services that are
appropriate to their needs. The financial inclusion framework
considers factors that affect the consumer directly (demandside) and factors that affect the financial sector providers
(supply-side). These factors ultimatel HY