Financial inclusion is increasingly being viewed as critically important to reducing poverty and achiev­ing inclusive economic growth. While it is by no means a panacea to ending poverty, it does represent a tangible way of reducing it. By Paul Hodgson A growing body of evidence suggests that financial inclusion has substantial benefits for individuals. Various studies have demonstrated that when people participate in the financial system, they are better positioned to start and expand their own businesses, invest in education, manage risk, and absorb financial shocks. By giving the financially excluded, unbanked and under-banked access to bank accounts and payment mechanisms, savings increase, women are empowered and productive investment and consumption are boosted. Providing access to credit has positive effects on consumption, employability and income, thereby positively affecting some aspects of an individual’s mental health and general wellbeing. Financial inclusion and t...

For the large portion of the South African population who are digitally invisible, the journey to digital visibility is not without its challenges. By Paul Hodgson In the process of helping the ‘digitally invisible’ to become ‘digitally visible’, dealing with illiterate persons and ensuring that the information captured has integrity and is accurate, are just some of the challenges to overcome. SkillsPassport (Pty) Ltd , an innovative tech company, has, over the past six years, spent time on the business side of the digital divide in boardrooms of large corporates and SMEs and in the homes of individual employers to understand their needs and frustrations in the lower Living Standard Measure (LSM) employment space. Coupled with this, vast amounts of time have been spent under trees, on the side of the road and in the homes of digitally invisible people on the other side of the digital divide to understand their frustrations and barriers to entering the employment market. ...

Bold, forward thinking, tech-savvy entrepreneurs are developing and successfully deploying apps that allow marginalised individuals to create a digital profile that makes them visible to the mainstream economy. By Paul Hodgson Almost 80 percent of the South African population of 42,4 million people reside in economically marginalised communities (Stats SA, 2005). A marginalised community is defined as a group that is confined to the lower or peripheral edge of society and as such is denied involvement in mainstream economic, political, cultural and social activities. Unlike the relatively small percentage of the population that is accessible via digital profiles represented on platforms like LinkedIn, a large majority of these marginalised community members have little or no digital presence and, as a result, very little chance of being ‘found’ by potential employers. The only option available to these ‘digitally invisible’ individuals is for them to commute, at significant...