Behind the push to make banking more inclusive in MENA

With the exception of the six high-income markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East and north Africa (MENA) has lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of increasing access to basic financial services among its populations.

While the past 10 years have seen impressive growth within individual markets, the most recent data indicate that the percentage of the region’s population holding bank accounts is tied with sub-Saharan Africa as the lowest proportion worldwide.