The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has unveiled an ambitious roadmap that seeks to usher in a cashless era, prioritizing financial inclusion and economic growth.

The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, which will deploy over USD15 million in climate finance will support the delivery of adaptation projects at the grassroots level and deliver on national commitments to build resilience to the escalating impacts of climate change.

Through the partnership, the two entities will provide small businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt with an online platform, powered by SAVA’s Payment Transaction System, that includes digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools.

Launched in June 2023 by the country’s largest telecommunications provider, the new mobile money service M-Selen aims to bring basic financial services to the fingertips of everyday Solomon Islanders.

The National Treasury yesterday published the Financial Inclusion Policy Framework for South Africa, titled “An Inclusive Financial Sector for All” following the endorsement and approval of the policy framework by Cabinet on 8 August 2023.

This ZAR 60 billion (≈ USD 3.3 billion) investment is expected to contribute significantly to enhancing network resilience, further accelerating Vodacom’s deep rural coverage program to help bridge the digital divide and deepening financial inclusion.

The company aims to solve the problem of informal areas not having access to payments systems in the digital age.

New offering combines electronic cross-border payments and associated documentation on same platform, cutting days off execution of cross-border payments in South Africa.

The program is designed to increase climate lending by participating banks in Egypt, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa to 30 percent of their portfolios by 2030.