Demirgüç-Kunt, AsliKlapper, Leora2012-06-292012-06-292012-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9335This paper summarizes financial inclusion across Africa. First, it provides a brief overview of the African financial sector landscape. Second, it uses the Global Financial Inclusion Indicators (Global Findex) database to characterize adults in Africa that use formal and informal financial services and identify the barriers to formal account ownership. Next, it uses World Bank Enterprise Survey data to examine how the use of financial services by small and medium enterprises in Africa compares with small and medium enterprises in other developing regions in terms of account ownership and availability of lines of credit. The authors find that less than a quarter of adults in Africa have an account with a formal financial institution and that many adults in Africa use informal methods to save and borrow. Similarly, the majority of small and medium enterprises in Africa are unbanked and access to finance is a major obstacle. Compared with other developing economies, high-growth small and medium enterprises in Africa are less likely to use formal financing, which suggests formal financial systems are not serving the needs of enterprises with growth opportunities.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS POINTSACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICESACCOUNT HOLDERSACCOUNT OWNERSHIPASSET ACCUMULATIONAUTOMATED TELLER MACHINESBANK ACCOUNTBANK BRANCHBANK BRANCHESBANK FINANCINGBANK POLICYBANKSBARRIERBORROWINGBROAD ACCESSCAPITALIZATIONCHECKING ACCOUNTCOMMERCIAL BANKCOMMERCIAL BANK BRANCHESCREDIT ASSOCIATIONSCREDIT CARDDEBIT CARDDEMOGRAPHICDEPOSITDEPOSITSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPING ECONOMIESDOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTSDOMESTIC CREDITEARNINGSECONOMIC GROWTHEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT GROWTHENTERPRISE SURVEYENTERPRISE SURVEYSENTREPRENEURSENTREPRENEURSHIPENTRY BARRIERSEQUITY FINANCINGEQUITY MARKETSEXTERNAL FINANCEEXTERNAL FUNDINGFINANCESFINANCIAL ACCESSFINANCIAL DEPTHFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCIAL SYSTEMSFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSFINANCING OBSTACLESFINANCING SOURCESFIRM GROWTHFORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFORMAL FINANCIAL SECTORFORMAL SAVINGSGENDERGENDER GAPGROWTH OPPORTUNITIESGROWTH RATESHOUSEHOLDSINCOMEINCOME INEQUALITYINEQUALITYINFORMAL LENDERINFORMAL SAVINGSINNOVATIONSINTERNAL FUNDSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL COMPARISONINVESTMENT FINANCINGLEGAL CONSTRAINTSLIMITED ACCESSLINE OF CREDITLINES OF CREDITLIVESTOCK INSURANCELOANLOCMARKET CAPITALIZATIONMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMOBILE PHONEMOBILE PHONESNEW PRODUCTSNEW TECHNOLOGIESOPEN ACCESSOUTSTANDING LOANOUTSTANDING LOANSPRIVATE CREDITPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTRELIABILITYREMITTANCESRISK MANAGEMENTRURAL CLIENTSSAVINGSSAVINGS BEHAVIORSECURITY RISKSSELF-FINANCINGSHARE OF EQUITYSMALL ENTERPRISESSOURCE OF CREDITSTOCK EXCHANGESSTOCK MARKETSSTOCKSTELECOMMUNICATIONSTRADITIONAL BANKINGUSERSUSESWEBWITHDRAWALWORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORSMicrodata SetWorld Bankhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-6088