Digital and E-learning Solutions for Financial Services Providers in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview

This research identifies that capacity constraints are a key market failure that contribute to low levels of financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although information and communication technology (ICT) could reduce capacity building transaction costs, few financial service providers (FSPs) seem to be taking advantage of electronic learning (e-learning) to address capacity constraints. This research was designed to explore why this is the case, and to identify actions that might be taken to encourage and/or support the use of ICT to facilitate cost-effective learning within SSA’s financial sector.

The report highlights the following as factors that affect FSPs; willingness to pay for e-learning solutions:

• Lack of information about how much different solutions cost and what the return on investment will be (particularly when a large initial investment is required);
• Limited ability to design quality content at an affordable price;
• Poor internet connectivity and/or power supply.