Financial Inclusion in Zimbabwe: Lessons from the Commercial Banking Sector

Auxilia Kawara (), Binganidzo Muchara and Huibrecht M. van der Poll
Additional contact information
Auxilia Kawara: Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa, Cnr Janadel & Alexandra Avenue, Midrand 1685, South Africa
Binganidzo Muchara: Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa, Cnr Janadel & Alexandra Avenue, Midrand 1685, South Africa
Huibrecht M. van der Poll: Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa, Cnr Janadel & Alexandra Avenue, Midrand 1685, South Africa

IJFS, 2025, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Financial institutions, researchers, and policymakers are taking steps to promote financial inclusion, a crucial aspect for social and economic development. This study explores the extent of financial inclusion (FI) in Zimbabwe’s commercial banks. This study employed a mixed-methods approach. A relationship mapping was conducted on the bank customers’ survey, and a thematic analysis was performed on bank executives to evaluate bank challenges and strategies. The findings confirmed positive strides towards achieving financial inclusion. Gaps in financial inclusion were identified in the high rate of people using informal channels and the limited policies in creating a conducive environment for financial inclusion. The study contributes to the ongoing debate by the World Bank in support of financial inclusion as an effective solution for countries like Zimbabwe, which is experiencing a severe macro crisis. The study adds to the emerging financial inclusion literature, proposing solutions to reduce financial exclusion in developing economies. Based on the study findings, policymakers should create a conducive environment for commercial banks and consumers of financial products and services in Zimbabwe.

Keywords: financial inclusion; social and economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F2 F3 F41 F42 G1 G2 G3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7072/13/4/182/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7072/13/4/182/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijfss:v:13:y:2025:i:4:p:182-:d:1762489

Access Statistics for this article

IJFS is currently edited by Ms. Hannah Lu

More articles in IJFS from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().