Beyond Access: Mobile Financial Inclusion Mechanisms and Sustainable Development Outcomes in Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon

Chukwuagoziem Blessed Nwankwo; Ikeotuonye Victor Okonkwo

doi:10.56201/jbae.vol.12.no6.2026.pg14.24

📄 Download Paper

Beyond Access: Mobile Financial Inclusion Mechanisms and Sustainable Development Outcomes in Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon

Chukwuagoziem Blessed Nwankwo, and Ikeotuonye Victor Okonkwo

Abstract

This study examined mobile financial inclusion mechanisms' effect on sustainable development in Nigeria, Kenya, and Cameroon from 2010 to 2024. Mobile money appears merely to broaden financial services among existing users in sub-Saharan Africa. The research assessed mobile money penetration, transactions, and outlet density against the Human Development Index , juxtaposing their distinct effects across the selected countries. Anchored in UTAUT theory and using secondary data from World Bank Development Indicators and Global Data Index, econometric analysis employed Panel OLS and Granger Causality tests. Mobile Money Penetration produced a neutral HDI effect at the aggregate level with no significant country-specific effects. Transaction volume showed significant Granger-causality with HDI at the aggregate level, though manifesting as adverse in Cameroon, positively lagged in Nigeria, and inconsequential in Kenya. Agent density displayed no meaningful aggregate HDI impact, though Cameroon showed a pronounced favorable country-specific effect. Findings reveal a vital paradox: financial access and account ownership alone do not assure human development. Substantive impact depends on deep service engagement and integration into productive economic activities rather than mere access expansion or infrastructure rollout. Regulators must pivot from elementary expansion to value creation promoting product-linked accounts, transforming agent networks into SME service hubs, and aligning mobile finance ecosystems with national development frameworks to realize concrete advancements in health, education, and living standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.Keywords: Mobile money, financial inclusion, sustainable development, Human Development Index, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords

Mobile moneyfinancial inclusionsustainable developmentHuman Development IndexSub-Saharan Africa.

References

Central Bank of Nigeria. (2023). Statistical bulletin 2023. Central Bank of Nigeria. CGAP. (2019). Agent networks: Quality over quantity. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Klapper, L., Singer, D., Ansar, S., & Hess, J. (2022). The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial inclusion, digital payments, and resilience in the age of COVID-19. World Bank. Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Klapper, L., Singer, D., Ansar, S., & Hess, J. (2018). The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring financial inclusion and the fintech revolution. World Bank. Dědeček, P., & Dudzich, M. (2022). Human Development Index and sustainable development: A critical review. Sustainability Review, 14(3), 115–129. GSMA. (2024). State of the industry report on mobile money 2024. GSMA Intelligence. Gujarati, D. N. (2004). Basic econometrics (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill. Jack, W., & Suri, T. (2014). Risk sharing and transactions costs: Evidence from Kenya’s mobile money revolution. American Economic Review, 104(1), 183–223. Jack, W., & Suri, T. (2017). The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science, 354(6317), 1288–1292. Kamara, J., & Yu, J. (2024). FinTech adoption and traditional financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Development Review, 36(2), 245–260. Lashmar, P. (2018). Beyond GDP: Human development and sustainability indicators. Journal of Development Studies, 12(4), 77–91. Le Blanc, D. (2015). Towards integration at last? The sustainable development goals as a network of targets. Sustainable Development, 23(3), 176–187. Lenka, S. K., & Barik, R. (2022). Digital financial inclusion and human development: Evidence from developing economies. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 27(2), 133–145 .Marco, F., & Perez-Saiz, H. (2025). Digital finance and inclusive economic development in emerging markets. Journal of Development Finance, 18(1), 44–63. Mas, I., & Siedek, N. (2009). Banking through networks of retail agents. CGAP Focus Note No. 47. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. Ojiako, U., Eze, U., & Ahmed, M. (2022). Financial inclusion and digital payment systems in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Review, 10(2), 55–73. Ozili, P. K. (2023). Digital financial inclusion. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 41(4), 789–813. Riley, E. (2018). Mobile money and risk sharing against village shocks. Journal of Development Economics, 135, 43–58. Roba, G., & Kyalo, D. (2025). Mobile financial services and SME performance in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Finance Journal, 27(1), 90–112. Sachs, J. D., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G., & Drumm, E. (2023). Sustainable development report 2023. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Suri, T., & Jack, W. (2016). The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science, 354(6317), 1288–1292. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations. United Nations Development Programme. (2023). Human development report 2023/2024. UNDP. Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478. World Bank. (2022). Global financial development report 2022: Financial inclusion and development. World Bank. World Bank. (2025). World development indicators 2025. World Bank.

Beyond Access: Mobile Financial Inclusion Mechanisms and Sustainable Development Outcomes in Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon

Abstract

Keywords

References

More Articles from JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND AFRICAN ECONOMY