This report by UNCDF is the fourth in the series to evaluate progress in the implementation of MAP informed national financial inclusion strategies and was developed with significant engagement and support from the five participating SADC countries. The intention with this report is to allow for the ongoing tracking of financial inclusion progress in these participating SADC countries.
The 2021 SADC Measuring Progress report comes at a time when there are unneglectable changes at the global, national and household levels. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about historically unprecedented changes to not only the livelihoods of the average households in the participating countries, but also impacted on the economic growth and development of these countries as a whole, and more broadly at the global level.
In recognising the deep social changes that has emerged as a result of the pandemic and seeking to build back better towards a more inclusive future, the 2021 tracking report seeks to embed the critical supporting role of financial inclusion in both mitigating the impact of the pandemic, but also in recovering from it, both at a household and at a national level. Given the need to not only mitigate the impact of the pandemic but also pre-existing socio-economic state of broad segments of society trapped in poverty, financial inclusion – now more than ever – need to support the urgent imperative of an inclusive recovery and the approaching SDG goalposts of 2030.
