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The study was conducted in Tanzania to assess the effect of financial service access on the agricultural commercialization of smallholder rice growers in Kilombero under the moderating effect of institutional cultural cognition. Primary data were collected from 397 smallholder farmers, and after data cleaning, we remained with 358 responses subjected to regression analysis. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis with the help of IBM SPSS software. The findings revealed that financial service access significantly positively affected commercialization. Also, the results confirm that institutional cultural cognition has a significant negative moderation effect on the relationship between financial inclusion and agriculture commercialization. The results suggest that reducing cultural cognition can increase financial service access. So, if the wrong perception and beliefs of the poor and marginalized society toward formal financial services can be reduced, then access to formal financial services will be increased, thus improving the level of agriculture commercialization. Also, we recommend that policymakers and the government set policies to reduce the cost of accessing financial services and enhance financial services availability.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the effect of the ease of access to mobile credit on the financial prosperity of MSEs. The ease of access describes the simplicity and easy way of enabling the provision of credit to a mobile money subscriber. Mobile credit means the credit offered through mobile phones whether from mobile phone operators in conjunction with banks or non-bank financial institutions or stand-alone mobile finance companies as per AFI - Global (2020) definition. This study tries to analyze whether there is a relationship between ease of access and the financial prosperity of an entrepreneur. Financial prosperity on the other hand is the economic well-being of a person or institution. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for this study was 271,365 Licensed Small and Micro entrepreneurs in Nairobi County as per the Nairobi City County Licensing Database as of 16th November 2020. The sampling design employed a stratified sampling design to achieve a representative sample of the respondents. The sample size was 400 MSEs from each MSE, and the owner or key member was picked to participate. Overall, it was found that ease of access to mobile credit had a positive influence on financial prosperity. This implies that improved access to mobile credit leads to improved financial prosperity. An increase in Ease of access has a significant positive relationship (1.741432) with the financial prosperity composite. An increase in ease of access by one unit leads to an increase in financial prosperity by 1.741 units. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that mobile lenders should offer mobile credit with affordable terms. The mobile credit lenders should maintain a short period of the mobile money application process and approval to enhance the profitability and leverage of businesses. With good use of mobile credit, increased liquidity would increase financial prosperity for micro and small entrepreneurs.

One of the most important concerns facing the world today is financial inclusion. Organizations, financial institutions, and people in positions of responsibility are all demonstrating an interest in learning more about this. Several industrialized and emerging nations have recognized financial exclusion as a major socio-economic problem that needs to be addressed. This paper aims to examine the factors influencing smallholder farmers' financial inclusion in Zimbabwe. Using the logistic regression analysis, the results of the study pointed out that there was a considerable correlation between a household's size, off-farm income, agricultural extension service, distance, and transaction costs in a logit model, which was used to determine whether it had access to financial services. Government and financial service providers should strive to make it easier for people to get to their nearest banking institutions by establishing access points close to their residences. Filling stations and major supermarkets are examples of places where these access points could be positioned. As a result of greater access to formal financial services, small-scale farmers may benefit. Financial service providers must perform regular charge reviews as one of the factors that may deter families from utilizing financial services.

Governments in developing economies are continuously seeking ways to increase the number of people that have access to formal financial services. However, literature on why households in developing economies are excluded from the formal credit sector is scarce. Thus, this study examines the link between household characteristics and the choice of credit provider using unique household-level primary data from the Niger Delta region. A binomial logistic regression model based on relevant household characteristics is developed for estimation. The results show that the number of dependents and income of a household, as well as education level and age of household head, is relevant in understanding the choice of the credit provider. Strikingly, the finding that the probability of borrowing from the informal sector increases with household distance from a formal lender at a decreasing rate suggests the significance of cost associated with traveling to the nearest bank on the choice of a lender and the presence of information asymmetry in the credit market of the region. Overall, the study raises important implications to inform credit market policies and practices in the region.

The purpose of this study is to examine the drivers of the ownership and use of mobile accounts as compared to those of financial institution accounts in Côte d’Ivoire. In this perspective, individual level data from the Global Findex 2017 database were used to carry out simple probit and Heckman probit estimations. The results revealed that the ownership of mobile accounts is associated with determinants related to individuals in the least vulnerable strata of society (wealthier and more educated individuals and individuals in the labour force), while their use is associated with determinants related to individuals in the most vulnerable strata of society (women and individuals out of the labour force). On the other hand, the ownership and use of financial institution accounts are associated with the determinants related to individuals in the least vulnerable strata of society. Therefore, the delay between the financial institution accounts’ penetration rate and that of mobile accounts in Côte d’Ivoire may be explained by the greater use of mobile accounts by individuals in the most vulnerable strata of society, which represent the large share of the unbanked.

The goal of this study was to see how financial inclusion affects gender-based poverty in Nigeria. Commercial bank branches, deposits, and borrowers were the proxy for financial inclusion. The poverty index was used to measure poverty reduction. The World Development Indicator (WDI) and the CBN Statistical Bulletin 2021 provided the data for this study. Finally, the study included the years 2002 to 2019. Financial inclusion reduces household poverty in Nigeria, according to the study, which used a VAR estimate. The coefficients of commercial bank branches and commercial bank deposits were (-0.004) and (-0.008), respectively, indicating that they had a negative influence on poverty reduction. Furthermore, the study discovered that having access to credit through a financial institution was crucial in lowering poverty in Nigeria over the study period. As a result, the report recommends that steps to promote the rule of law, particularly contract enforcement and financial regulatory inspection, be implemented, resulting in more financial inclusion and a reduction in poverty and income gaps, particularly between men and women. The benefits of financial inclusion must be made more widely known, particularly in rural regions, through promoting financial literacy among the poor through education, advertising, and traditional institutions.