Introduction

Abstract

Financial inclusion is an important instrument for worldwide socio-economic development as it lessens poverty and boosts economic growth. Financial inclusion levels for developed and high-earning countries have greatly increased, but in some African and other less developed countries, generally, they have remained very low despite various African and other governments having initiated many financial literacy programmes. There are various reasons for this, and some include fragmented financial literacy programmes and uncoordinated, duplicated, and unclear financial education policy. Literature acknowledges the undeniable benefits of financial inclusion towards socio-economic development. These include improved financial behaviour and financial attitude, which translate to improved access and usage of financial products and services as well as a stable financial system. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Duygu Damar-Blanken and Michelle Kelly-Louw; individual chapters, the contributors.