Promoting and Prioritising Financial Inclusion in Southern Africa: A Contemporary Law and Economics Perspective

The book Promoting and Prioritising Financial Inclusion in Southern Africa: A Contemporary Law and Economics Perspective is written in the backdrop of Africa emerging as the world’s second fastest developing continent, behind Asia. Africa has had annual Gross Domestic Product growth rates in excess of five percent over the last decade. Unfortunately, Africa’s rapid economic expansion has not resulted in shared wealth or better living conditions for the majority of its people. Contributors to the book underline the importance of inclusive economic success in order to be socially and politically sustainable, with a specific emphasis on Southern Africa. Financial inclusion is a critical component of inclusive development, and Southern African countries, like the rest of Africa, have lagged behind other continents in this area. Fewer adults in Southern Africa have access to a formal financial institution account. According to the book, increasing access to financial services will mobilise more household savings, attract capital for investment, enlarge the class of entrepreneurs, and allow more individuals to invest in themselves and their families. Financial inclusion is required to ensure that economic growth is inclusive and sustainable. All measures that make formal financial services available, accessible and affordable to all segments of the population are referred to as financial inclusion. This necessitates paying special attention to segments of the population who have historically been excluded from the formal financial system, whether due to their income level and volatility, gender, geography, kind of activity, or degree of financial knowledge. In doing so, there is a need to tap the untapped potential of those individuals and businesses who are currently excluded from or underserved by the formal financial sector, allowing them to build capacity, strengthen their human and physical capital, engage in income-generating activities, and manage risks associated with their livelihoods.