It is important to extend banking services to groups that are historically unbanked or underbanked. Getty
It is important to extend banking services to groups that are historically unbanked or underbanked. Getty
It is important to extend banking services to groups that are historically unbanked or underbanked. Getty
It is important to extend banking services to groups that are historically unbanked or underbanked. Getty

How banks can drive change by expanding financial inclusion


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Financial inclusion has become a subject of great importance as an indispensable component in driving inclusive growth and supporting the overall economic development of the Middle East and wider Mena region.

Over the past decade, technological advances and innovation have allowed banks to make substantial progress towards widespread financial inclusion.

What is financial inclusion and why is it important?

Financial inclusion means expanding the number of people served by banks by facilitating access to more financial services, including opening a bank account, transferring money, receiving wages, applying for credit and obtaining insurance.

Having a bank account makes it easier, safer and cheaper to receive wage payments from employers, send remittances to family members and pay for goods and services.

Overall, the societal and economic benefits of financial inclusion are apparent.

For individuals, access to banking services is empowering and makes life easier. At an aggregate level, higher levels of financial inclusion directly correlate to higher levels of economic growth.

Financial inclusion and the Mena region

In 2017, close to a third of adults worldwide — 1.7 billion people — still did not have a bank, a World Bank study found.

About half of these individuals were women, members of rural households of limited means and workers outside the formal economy.

More than half of the world’s unbanked adults live in seven economies, including Pakistan and Egypt.

According to a World Bank study, bank account ownership in Pakistan is as low as 21 per cent, with more than 115 million adults not having access to basic financial services.

These figures indicate the stark inequality in our societies and point to the importance for banks and governments to focus on driving financial inclusion.

To secure a more equitable future, the UAE Central Bank has put financial inclusion as one of its key areas of focus, unveiling a new initiative on February 13.

The programme is aimed at accelerating digital transformation of the financial services sector, with the goal to make key financial products more accessible to UAE residents.

Financial inclusion as a policy objective is also driven by the Central Bank of Egypt, which announced its latest inclusion strategy in 2022, aiming to achieve economic growth by extending financial services to the previously unbanked.

Identifying underserved demographics

While banks try to increase access to financial products, identifying key demographics is crucial to ensure that initiatives aimed at fostering equity are effective.

Extending services to groups that are historically unbanked or underbanked, including youths aged 16 to 21, women and the self-employed, is a key factor in building on progress in the region.

Banks in the region should focus on simplifying the process of opening a bank account for customers by streamlining the “know your customer” due diligence.

These practices are key to ensure that anyone can use their national ID as the sole identification requirement.

Focusing on financial inclusion in financial services can create long-term benefits for banks.

By helping more families and businesses plan for everything, from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies, banks can gain loyal customers.

Once a newcomer initiates a touchpoint with a bank, that person is more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance. This will subsequently help in other aspects, such as simplifying the process of starting a business, investing in education, managing risk and weathering financial shocks.

The process has a snowball effect and the benefits are tangible.

Joint effort can bring significant results

When it comes to extending financial services to socially and economically marginalised individuals, banks have the resources, infrastructure and expertise to drive change.

In Pakistan, a World Bank study found that further digitalisation of personal banking services could bring more than 20 million unbanked adults into the formal financial system.

In Egypt, joint efforts by the central bank and private sector institutions helped financial inclusion rates increase to more than 56 per cent by the end of 2021 from 33 per cent in 2017.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the technological revolution, which transformed access to finance by accelerating the adoption of digital solutions. Where previously people had to physically access an ATM or enter a bank branch, now consumers can access financial services via mobile apps.

Worldwide account ownership has grown by 50 per cent in the past decade, World Bank research found.

While a mere 42 per cent of adults in developing economies had a bank account in 2011, the proportion surged to 71 per cent 10 years later, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2021 report.

Nevertheless, women, poor adults, the less educated and those outside the labour market continue to be underserved.

The region’s sharp focus on enhancing personal banking services and implementing digital solutions creates a big opportunity for banks and financial institutions to reach the overlooked groups by leveraging technology.

The important element in building on the positive momentum is emphasising that financial inclusion is one of the elements of building stronger, more robust economies and can become a centrepiece to ensuring sustainable growth.

Fernando Morillo is group head of retail banking at Mashreq Bank

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RESULTS

6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

Winner RB Money To Burn, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).

7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m

Winner Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m

Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Kimbear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Platinum Star, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.

10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Key Victory, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

Company%20Profile
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UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

AndhaDhun

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

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Company%20profile
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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

SQUADS

UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan

Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh

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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright

BLACK%20ADAM
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Various Artists 
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Results
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Barbie
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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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The%20specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

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Updated: March 10, 2023, 4:00 AM`