By Christopher Saul, Territory Sales Lead for East Africa at Red Hat
Financial inclusion across East Africa would not be possible without technology. Digital innovation has given rise to an ecosystem where citizens and organisations can access essential services and participate in their economies in a convenient and practical way. Since 2011, the number of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa who own an account has more than doubled, with much of that growth driven by the adoption of mobile money accounts. Kenya is home to a robust mobile money market, as evidenced by the number of people who have both bank and mobile money accounts. It reflects a drive to innovate and utilise digital technologies to promote financial inclusion.
That said, there’s still work to be done, particularly when it comes to accessibility. While countries such as Kenya and South Africa have made significant progress in upping their inclusion rates, new technologies, particularly those powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), can close the gap further and usher in a new generation of accessible banking applications and solutions. Accessibility is a cornerstone of any successful financial ecosystem, and it is with the help of AI/ML that we can make it also a cornerstone of East Africa’s digital future.
Removing barriers, front and back
The lack of access to financial resources and services serves as one of the biggest hurdles for developing economies worldwide. Digital technologies have emerged as key tools to overcoming this hurdle, with fintech solutions providing a sustainable means for unbanked and underserved populations. Businesses in East Africa have seized this opportunity and the result is a financial ecosystem that empowers people and enterprises while promoting social and economic equality.
However, in promoting financial inclusion, stakeholders and organisations need to reinforce accessibility (i.e. designing systems and solutions that can be accessed and used by anyone). For example, Kenya is a multilingual country and home to more than 60 indigenous languages. This presents a challenge in terms of service adoption, as providers may be unable to offer advanced language options to their users. Digital literacy is another example of the importance of accessibility as accessible design and implementation can lead to users being unable to fully use the available services.
The power and potential of GenAI
Financial services is one of the industries making the most of the GenAI wave. The technology has had a profound impact, reshaping strategic and operational priorities and enabling providers with a new set of tools and capabilities. GenAI can help automate investment research and knowledge management. It can streamline traditional processes such as loan processing, fraud detection, and after-sales customer support. At the same time, it can open up new revenue opportunities and lead to new products and services that take key markets such as East Africa forward.
Importantly, GenAI can help providers enhance the accessibility of their new and existing products and services. Examples of how financial service providers can leverage GenAI to improve accessibility include automated image descriptions, content type conversion, real-time support using chatbots, and predictive accessibility enhancements. And yes, language is also applicable here. Already, large language model (LLM) projects across Africa are training models that can support low-resource indigenous languages across industries, including healthcare and education. In financial services, the ability to engage with and support customers and industry stakeholders in their native languages carries a lot of potential for transformation and inclusivity.
Accessibility doesn’t have to come at a high price
As with any new technology integration, businesses in East Africa need to be clear on what they want to achieve using AI, be it improved customer service, marketing, or operations. Financial service providers should not disregard accessibility or treat it as an afterthought, especially when AI/ML technologies can aid and enhance accessibility initiatives and must therefore be considered at the planning stage.
Using enterprise IT platforms that let providers develop, test and run AI models for their applications, as well as provide the necessary toolkits and support, they can leverage the technology to make real changes in how they serve their customers. This promotes not just financial inclusion but also the delivery of products that cater the real-world needs and circumstances of their customers. Furthermore, using open-source licensed foundational models enables providers to run them across hybrid cloud infrastructure and save them time, money and resources, making them more adept and cost-effective for African markets. In a way, they are an exercise in accessibility.
That is how real change comes about. Through strategic planning implementation, AI can be a powerful tool in enhancing accessibility in finance in East Africa and taking the global industry forward.
Read: Red Hat Updates OpenShift with New AI and Virtualization Features in Version 4.17
