BARRIERS TO BANKING IN AFRICA.

The adoption of banking services offered by financial institutions, is not common in Africa, the following figures:less than 10% of the populations on the continent, about 10 million people are unbanked.And according to analysts, this is the lowest rate in the world banking.It is in this light that we focused on the causes of this phenomenon which constitutes a real obstacle to the economic development of the continent.

• The lack of political will

Policy makers across the continent, few seem ready to facilitate the installation and accessibility of banks through legislation and appropriate devices.

• The tradition

The weight of tradition is such that public confidence in the banking system is close to zero.The habit of the famous "tontine" these kinds of ancestors of microcredit continue to be, an essential part of informal savings systems.

Everything is based on trust based on friendship, brotherhood or clan.What is it about?Some people create a common pot which each pays the same amount of money at regular intervals, the total is then up to each in turn, without interest.

Under these conditions, nothing more understandable that people do not always master the codes of the banking system and make little confidence in it.

• Mobile banking

Almost everywhere on the continent, including Kenya, most banking transactions are made via mobile phones.Kenya, with its mobile banking system M-Pesa, had also been told to "The Atlantic" that:this is the solution which will bring the rural world to the modern economy.Over 60% of the adult population in Kenya is adept mobile banking.

• The lack of education

According to Global Findex, banking penetration rates are commensurate with education levels.In Africa, 55% of people with higher education have bank accounts.

This regards our modest relative contribution, brakes to banking in Africa.

Frédéric Betta-Akwa