Analysis of the determinants of financial inclusion in Central and West Africa

Abstract

Using data from the Global Financial Inclusion database (Global Findex) of the World Bank, this study attempts to identify and analyse the determinants of financial inclusion in Central and West Africa, two of the least financial inclusive regions of the Africa continent. The findings indicate that access to formal finance in the two regions is mainly driven by individual characteristics such as gender, education, age, income, residence area, employment status, marital status, household size and degree of trust in financial institutions. This is an output from the ‘Delivering Inclusive Financial Development and Growth’ project