Banking in Africa

2019 ◽  
pp. 1075-1112
Author(s):  
Thorsten Beck ◽  
Robert Cull ◽  
Patricio Valenzuela
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Banking Systems ◽  
Financial Innovations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Sub Saharan

This chapter takes stock of the current state of banking systems across Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses recent developments, including innovations that might help Africa leapfrog more traditional banking models. Using an array of different data, the chapter documents that African banking systems are shallow but stable. African banks are well capitalized and over-liquid, but lend less to the private sector than banks in non-African developing countries. African enterprises and households are less likely to use financial services than their peers in other developing countries, although there has been significant progress over the past decade. The chapter also describes a number of financial innovations across the continent that can help overcome different barriers to financial inclusion and have helped to expand the bankable and the banked population. The chapter ends with discussing current challenges for policymakers and academics, including the lack of (data on) long-term finance and the supervisory challenges stemming from increasing cross-border banking in the region.

scholarly journals Financing innovative development of the African economies: the role of digitalization and financial innovations

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Tijani Forgor Alhassan ◽  
Ahou Julie Kouadio ◽  
Dadson Etse Gomado
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Financial Innovation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
Mobile Banking ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Financial Innovations ◽  
Sub Saharan

The article examines the relationship between financial innovation (mobile banking) variables in sub-Saharan Africa. Mobile banking (also known as mobile money) is one of the main financial innovations in the sub-Saharan region, and it is a system through which non-bank residents (residents without bank accounts, etc.) receive financial services. The overall importance of financial innovation in today’s digital and knowledge-based economy, and indeed, innovative development, inspired this study. Using a partial linear regression model, we analysed the International Monetary Fund data set, the World Bank’s national economic data, and mobile banking data from GSMA for the period from 2011 to 2017. A negative correlation was found between these variables and growth, as well as financial development, but a positive relationship was established between financial development and economic development. This positive relationship re-confirms the argument that financial development affects economic growth. It is recommended that policy makers develop and implement the necessary policy tools that can promote this form of financial innovation, and thus link its benefits to the national economy in general.

Genetic engineering and social justice: A reflection on Amartya Sen’s capability approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 205789112090768
Author(s):  
Gerry F Arambala
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sub Saharan

Over the past decades, biomedical researchers have made great progress in finding the treatment for many diseases which have been considered in the past as incurable. The struggle for longevity and positive health has been addressed by medical science. People who can afford it are assured by the promise of genetic engineering. But while there has been considerable development in the treatment of diseases, the number of mortalities in poor countries remains high, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia. Around 8 million people die each year worldwide due to poverty-related health issues. Despite the advancement in the treatment of diseases, poor people in most of the developing countries worldwide are dying each year. This article will argue that human poverty and the existence of infectious diseases are inseparable social phenomena that affect the fate of the poor in developing countries. Following Amartya Sen, this article will argue that access to advanced health care services should be affordable to all, and should form part of individual freedoms that the national policies of a country must secure.

scholarly journals Child Marriage: A Discussion Paper

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahera Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Set Up

Child marriage is still a massive problem in many developing countries. The issue is more concentrated in countries of Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. This paper, through literature review attempts to assess the situation, the consequences, various programmes and recommendations on the reduction of child marriage. In this article it is reinforced that, consequences of child marriage put the girls at risk of early pregnancies with life-threatening conditions. This paper suggests that each country should set up its own mid-term and long-term goals to bring about significant reduction in child marriages.

scholarly journals Are democratising countries rewarded with higher levels of foreign aid?

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-615
Author(s):  
Balázs Szent-Iványi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Partner Country ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Aid Allocation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Over Time

The paper examines how flows of foreign aid have reacted to events of democratisation in developing countries. Using a panel dataset of 136 aid-receiving countries between 1980 and 2009, aid allocation regressions reveal that Western donors in general have tended to react to visible, major democratic transitions by increasing aid to the partner country, but no significant increases can be identified in the case of countries introducing smaller democratic reforms. The increases in aid flows are not sustained over time, implying that donors do not provide long-term support to nascent democracies. Also, democratisations in Sub-Saharan Africa do not seem to have been rewarded with higher levels of aid.

scholarly journals Selected aspects and specifics of the economic development in sub-Saharan Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-528
Author(s):  
Karel Tomšík ◽  
Luboš Smutka
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Eastern Asia ◽  
The Past ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Other World ◽  
High Level

The paper examines the development of economies in the sub-Saharan region. It aims to identify particular development trends specific to the region. That means identifying changes which have occurred in the past five decades in following areas: development of the GDP value ​​and structure, growth in the value of foreign trade, demographic growth, and changes in the value of GDP per capita. The results of the analysis show very constrained economic power of sub-Saharan region. Not only weak economy of the region but also a significant population growth is a problem. Increasing production and trade does not contribute effectively to elimination of high level of poverty and malnutrition which remains a long-term problem of the sub-Saharan region. In real terms, the GDP per capita was growing by less than 1 % in the period 1961–2010. Sub-Saharan region is highly dependent on cooperation with other world regions in its effort to increase economic growth and to improve the economic situation of own population. The GDP growth is thus very sensitive to GDP development in Europe and North America. Concerning the foreign trade, development of sub-Saharan trade is dependent on regions of the Southern and Eastern Asia, and Europe.

Energy Access: Illusion or Reality for the Poor?

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 743-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Latsoucabe Fall
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Social Trends ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Access Rate ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Electricity Access

Electricity access is vital for alleviating poverty, and reversing the past and current negative economic and social trends in developing countries. However, despite efforts undertaken so far, the technological accomplishments and so-called breakthroughs, as well as global wealth, the population without electricity access in developing countries is still tremendous. In Sub-Saharan Africa, at least three-quarters of the population currently have no access to electricity; and over the past three decades, the number of people without access to electricity in this region has doubled. Moreover, if we applied the electricity connection rates of the past decade, one must wait until at least the end of this century, before achieving the electricity access objective set for the region. Some experts contend that electricity reform options experienced in Africa have not yet reached the expected beneficial effects, in terms of improvement of the electricity access rate for the poor, and that they were not designed to address the energy problems of the poor, but were explicitly aimed at achieving other objectives. It is thus well founded to raise the following questions: Is the WSSD objective of energy access realistic or utopian, particularly for Africa? Is the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of African poor by 2015 a ‘white vow’? How can we reverse the past and current negative trends and move towards the achievement of ambitious yet realistic objectives of widespread energy access?

Sovereign Wealth Funds and Long-Term Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boubacar Diallo ◽  
Fulbert Tchana Tchana ◽  
Albert G. Zeufack
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Financial Inclusion, Income Inequality and Sustainable Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1780
Author(s):  
Chima M. Menyelim ◽  
Abiola A. Babajide ◽  
Alexander E. Omankhanlen ◽  
Benjamin I. Ehikioya
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Financial Access ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Sustainable Economic Growth ◽  
The Impact

This study evaluates the relevance of inclusive financial access in moderating the effect of income inequality on economic growth in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 1995 to 2017. The findings using the Generalised Method of Moments (sys-GMM) technique show that inclusive financial access contributes to reducing inequality in the short run, contrary to the Kuznets curve. The result reveals a negative effect of financial access on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. There is a positive net effect of inclusive financial access in moderating the impact of income inequality on economic growth. Given the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Targets in the sub-region, policymakers and other stakeholders of the economy must design policies and programmes that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity and enhance sustainable economic growth.

scholarly journals Mapping of affordability levels for photovoltaic-based electricity generation in the solar belt of sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and South Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Szabó ◽  
Irene Pinedo Pascua ◽  
Daniel Puig ◽  
Magda Moner-Girona ◽  
Mario Negre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So

AbstractLack of access to modern forms of energy hampers efforts to reduce poverty. The provision of electricity to off-grid communities is therefore a long-standing developmental goal. Yet, many off-grid electrification projects neglect mid- and long-term operation and maintenance costs. When this is the case, electricity services are unlikely to be affordable to the communities that are the project’s primary target. Here we show that, compared with diesel-powered electricity generation systems, solar photovoltaic systems are more affordable to no less than 36% of the unelectrified populations in East Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. We do so by developing geo-referenced estimates of affordability at a high level of resolution (1 km2). The analysis illustrates the differences in affordability that may be found at the subnational level, which underscores that electrification investments should be informed by subnational data.

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