Enabling Mobile Microfinance: Opportunities and Challenges

Sudan is a country with rich endowment of natural resources yet remains a low-income and food-deficit country, and despite the efforts exerted by the government to reduce poverty, the country is still unable to mitigate poverty. Today the infrastructure gap in developing countries is large and continues to hinder efforts for poverty alleviation. Technology advance on the other hand has dramatically linked the world, increased communication is making the world without barriers or boundaries and information spread freely. This international interconnectedness has revolutionized countless industries, including microfinance. This chapter studies the challenges and opportunities in Sudan’s microfinance system in its attempt to achieve a pro-poor allocation of financing that is expected to lead to a more inclusive pattern of growth. The study looks at the setting of access to microfinance in Sudan, assesses the demand and supply, and highlights the main constraints and opportunities for the future. The study used structured survey to collect primary data. The highest ranked opportunities cited for mobile banking are provision of an efficient electronic channel for cross-selling, reduction of operational costs, increase in customer outreach, and most importantly financial inclusion of the poor. The challenges include internal technological constraints, lack of adequate staff capabilities, and complicated regulations. These results give strong implication for policy and microfinance providers to exert more efforts to adopt mobile microfinance to enhance the financial inclusion and alleviate poverty.