Introduction to the financial services in Africa special issue
African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
ISSN: 2040-0705
Article publication date: 13 March 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the landscape of financial services in Africa through the prism of a selection of research papers.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a review of literature that focusses on access to financial services (i.e. financial inclusion) and empirical findings from research papers in this issue of the journal.
Findings
The landscape of financial services in Africa is as heterogeneous as the countries comprising the continent. Common features include low levels of financial inclusion, low financial literacy, constrained access to credit, costly credit when available, gender discrimination in account ownership, and use and inefficient foreign exchange markets. Nevertheless, there are promising innovations, especially the mobile money innovation, which have the potential to foster more inclusive financial systems.
Originality/value
All the papers in this volume are based on original research shedding new insights on various aspects of financial services in Africa.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Previous versions of the papers in this volume were presented at the 5th International Conference on Financial Services, Port Elizabeth, South Africa from 29 September to 1 October 2015 organized by the University of South Africa.
Citation
Makina, D. (2017), "Introduction to the financial services in Africa special issue", African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 2-7. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-03-2017-149
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited