Bank of Zambia (BoZ) says Zambia has made progress towards closing the financial inclusion gap, despite women still lagging behind men, in accessing and using financial products and services.
BoZ Deputy Governor Administration, Rekha Mhango, says the 2020 FinScope Survey indicated that financial inclusion increased to 69.4% from 59.3% in 2015.
She said this during the financial inclusion and gender data workshop today.
Ms. Mhango said formal financial inclusion rose to 61.3% from 38.2% in 2015.
“In terms of formal financial inclusion, 64.4% of male adults were formally included compared to 58.6% of females, thus representing a formal financial inclusion gender gap of 5.8%.
She said this is an improvement when compared to the2015 survey, which indicated that the formal financial inclusion gender gap stood at 10%.
Ms. Mhango said the decline in the formal financial inclusion gender gap demonstrates the usefulness of collecting good quality sex-disaggregated data and adopting appropriate policies to address imbalances.
She said BoZ has been working closely with FinScope Survey to encourage the adoption of gender-responsive strategies in their processes as part of its efforts to contribute to increased financial inclusion, in line with its 2024 – 2027 Strategic Plan.
By Eva Hatontola
