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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) have launched the Ghana Digital Financial Services Initiative to advance financial inclusion in Ghana through the use of new technology and innovative business models.

The $5.6 million programme, launched on Wednesday in Accra, will support regulatory and market capacity, and provide direct advisory services to two industry actors to increase the reach of digital financial services in support of inclusive economic growth.

“Digital financial services are driving an unprecedented expansion in financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa today,” said Riadh Naouar, IFC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group Advisory in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We already see very exciting market developments in Ghana, and there is more potential to broaden access to financial services for low-income people and micro-entrepreneurs.”

The IFC said it is committed to ensuring universal financial inclusion by 2020 by supporting the provision of affordable and regulated financial services in order to fight against poverty.

In Ghana, about half of the population (or 58 percent, according to Finscope 2015) currently has access to formal financial services, with digital financial services driving most of the recent expansion.

The Ghana Digital Financial Services Initiative is being funded by SECO and will be implemented by IFC and CGAP in collaboration with the Central Bank of Ghana and the financial industry.

“Thanks to innovative technologies, financial services will become cheaper and more accessible for customers, thus creating new opportunities for them,” said Ivo Germann, Head of Operations of the Economic Cooperation and Development Division of SECO. “This allows mobile financial services providers to expand their business, creating a win-win situation.”