Adadzewa Otoo Kottoh has been appointed Project Director of Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD), a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded research initiative that focuses on deepening digital financial inclusion for women, poor households, SMEs, and other retail businesses in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
This chapter examines the role of financial technology (FinTech) in transforming the delivery of banking and financial services and its potential in promoting financial inclusion in Africa. The chapter discusses the main types of FinTech which include mobile money, mobile banking, crowdfunding, and blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies and their market developments in Africa.
The Retail and Finance Distribution (ReFinD) research initiative has awarded grants for three pilot studies to be conducted in three countries. This comes at the end of the first call for proposals which was issued during the project launch in June this year.
The Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) research initiative hosted an outreach workshop to share with participants key project information, in particular information about the first call for proposals and how interested research teams and organisations can access funding.
Ernest Aryeetey is the Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.
Peter Quartey holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester (UK), MSc in Quantitative Development Economics (University of Warwick, UK), MPhil. Economics (Ghana), and BA Economics (Ghana). He is a Professor in Development Economics and the immediate past Head, Department of Economics and Director (Economic Management Programme), University of Ghana. He served as the Deputy Director, Centre for Migration Studies (University of Ghana). Prof.
Francis Annan is an Assistant Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley ARE, a J-PAL Affiliated Professor at MIT, the Scientific Lead and Co-Chair of the Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) Research Initiative at ISSER, and a Fellow at the Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP) and the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP).
Kwame Oppong is Head of Fintech and Innovation at Bank of Ghana. Previously, he was a consultant with CGAP focused on digital financial services ecosystems, including providers, central banks, finance ministries, and other stakeholders, to advance financial inclusion through digital financial services. Before joining CGAP, Mr. Oppong was the general manager for Tigo, a mobile financial service provider in Ghana.
Ebenezer Twum Asante has over fifteen years progressive and diversified experience in leadership as an accomplished Senior Executive and a Strategic Leader.
