Sustainable financial inclusion: integrating sustainability principles into financial inclusion strategies

Ozili, Peterson K (2024): Sustainable financial inclusion: integrating sustainability principles into financial inclusion strategies. Published in:

Abstract

In a world where banked customers are increasingly aware of social and environmental issues, agents of financial inclusion need to adopt sustainable practices to remain relevant. This brings us to the issue of sustainable financial inclusion which is quite different from the mainstream financial inclusion concept. Sustainable financial inclusion is a concept used to describe the integration of sustainability principles into financial inclusion strategies. This paper provides an in-depth discussion of sustainable financial inclusion. Using the discourse analysis method, the paper provides several definitions of sustainable financial inclusion, and show the importance and benefits of sustainable financial inclusion. The paper also highlights the strategies to achieve sustainable financial inclusion and some challenges that may be experienced in the pursuit of sustainable financial inclusion. The implication of sustainable financial inclusion is that there will be increasing demand for agents of financial inclusion to not only seek profits but to also seek the preservation of society and the environment in their efforts to increase financial inclusion in rural and urban areas. The sustainable financial inclusion agenda will give banked adults an opportunity to pressure agents of financial inclusion to be sustainability oriented. This is a privilege that is non-existent in the mainstream financial inclusion agenda. This calls for a shift from the ‘mainstream financial inclusion’ agenda to a ‘sustainable financial inclusion’ agenda.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: financial inclusion, sustainable financial inclusion, sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable development goals, SDGs
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G21 - Banks ; Depository Institutions ; Micro Finance Institutions ; Mortgages; G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G28 - Government Policy and Regulation; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare, Well-Being

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