Speech delivered at the Central Bank of Eswatini, 19 May 2025

‘Reaching the Last Mile’ is at the very heart of our mission at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. It is also fundamental to achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

Today, we gather as a community of leaders, policymakers, regulators, and industry pioneers – all united by a common purpose: to ensure that every individual, every entrepreneur, every community in Eswatini can access, and can meaningfully use, financial services which can transform their lives and livelihoods.

Eswatini has made commendable strides in financial inclusion, thanks to the commitment of the Central Bank, government, private sector and other stakeholders. The 2023 Eswatini FinTech Landscape Report revealed that the financial inclusion rate had reached 87%, largely driven by the success of mobile money services. This is significant progress.

There has been a proactive approach to fostering innovation, through initiatives such as the establishment of the FinTech Unit at the Central Bank in 2018, the launch of the FinTech regulatory sandbox, and the formation of the Eswatini FinTech Working Group.

However, as the recently released 2023 Blended FinScope MSME Survey for Eswatini reveals, and as the FinTech Landscape Report also highlights, the journey to reach that “last mile” and deepen the usage of financial services is ongoing. It will require renewed vigor and innovative, data-driven approaches.

The MSME survey is particularly revealing:

• There has been an encouraging 18% increase in the number of MSMEs since 2017, highlighting a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit. These enterprises are the lifeblood of your economy.
• Women are at the forefront. They constitute 60% of MSME owners, an indication of their vital role in driving economic activity, and of the immense potential gains from their further empowerment.
• Young entrepreneurs, who represent 28% of MSME owners, are a significant force, signaling hope and dynamism for Eswatini’s future.

Yet the data sources also illuminate the challenges we must collectively address:

• Despite high access, the usage of financial services beyond basic mobile money transactions, remains a hurdle. There is a lack of product diversity across various FinTech product verticals.
• There has also been a significant decline in MSMEs utilizing banking services.
• Access to formal credit and insurance for MSMEs is alarmingly low – only 5% access credit from banks, and a mere 4% have insurance cover for their businesses.
• Financial literacy continues to be an area needing focused attention.
• Finally, the FinTech Report also highlights the need to enhance cross-border P-2-P payments, and to develop use cases in e-commerce, transportation and agriculture in order to create desirable network effects.

These numbers and findings are not just statistics; they represent untapped potential, dreams deferred, and missed opportunities for growth, which will remain unrealized until we can reach the last mile.

In this respect, I want to highlight the critical role that the financial industry, including Banks, MFIs, and burgeoning Fintech companies, can play.

• Commercial Banks: You bring scale, established infrastructure, and the trust of the public. You can adapt traditional models to serve smaller, often informal, businesses and lower-income individuals more effectively. This means innovating in product design, leveraging technology for cost-effective service delivery, and rethinking collateral requirements.
• Microfinance Institutions: Your deep understanding of grassroots communities and ability to reach underserved customer groups is invaluable. Providing tailored financial and additive non-financial services to micro-entrepreneurs will be especially valuable.
• Fintech Companies and Mobile Money Providers: You are the catalysts for innovation, bringing agility, disruptive technologies, and new models for reaching the underserved. Your role in developing user-centric digital financial services, particularly mobile money, is key to bridging access and usage gaps.

The FinScope MSME survey found that 90% of MSME owners funded their start-ups using personal savings, or support from family and friends. This gap can be filled with appropriate products informed by appropriate data.

To enhance FinTech and financial innovation in Eswatini, and to foster a vibrant ecosystem that can effectively serve the last mile, we need robust data. In this regard, I have six recommendations, based on observations from across the global AFI network.

1. First, Prioritize Data Strategically: Champion data as a core national asset. A clear, high-level data vision, can drive inclusive innovation and smarter supervision within the FinTech space.
2. Classify your FinTech Ecosystem: Before collecting more data, consider developing a comprehensive Eswatini FinTech and DFS taxonomy. This will help map main actors, identify potential risks, define gaps, and spot growth opportunities, specifically within your unique FinTech environment.
3. Align Data Collection with Policy Impact: Collect data with purpose. Focus on metrics that directly inform financial inclusion, ensure gender equity in digital finance, and strengthen consumer protection in the digital realm.
4. On Regulation, Shift from Compliance to Intelligent Foresight: Embrace data to move beyond reactive oversight of FinTechs. Adopt new tools like APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and SupTech to proactively understand market trends and risks.
5. Build Trust and Interoperability for Seamless Data Flow: Foster trust through strong data governance. Invest in secure, interoperable digital infrastructure – the National Payments Switch is a commendable step in this direction – and champion ethical frameworks to break down data silos that can hinder FinTech growth.
6. Collaborate to Co-Create: No one succeeds alone. Co-design Eswatini’s data roadmap for FinTech with all stakeholders. The Landscape Report emphasizes the need for the Eswatini FinTech Working Group to coordinate and collaborate broadly.

These actions can significantly enhance the FinTech ecosystem through:

• Tailored Products and Services: Designing relevant, affordable, and accessible solutions.
• Improved Risk Assessment: For instance, developing innovative credit scoring for MSMEs who are currently excluded.
• Driving Innovation: While frameworks like Open Finance offer potential, their implementation must be country-led, flexible, and prioritize robust consumer protection, data privacy, and security. The immediate focus should be on building strong foundational data practices.

No single institution, no single sector, can achieve comprehensive financial inclusion alone. Fostering collaboration is therefore critical. We need a concerted, collaborative effort involving all stakeholders. The FinTech Landscape Report highlights that the Eswatini FinTech Working Group collaborative efforts are a positive step, but it also suggests expanding this collaboration to include actors from ICT, digital entrepreneurship, start-up communities, consumers, and market actors.

This collaboration can be:

• With Financial Institutions and FinTechs: Banks, MFIs, and fintechs must move from seeing each other solely as competitors, to seeing them as potential partners. Low engagement between incumbents and FinTech start-ups, for instance, limits market entry and access.
• With Policymakers and Regulators: The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance play a pivotal role. Enabling regulatory environments like sandboxes – one of Eswatini’s notable achievements Eswatini – foster innovation. The goal is risk-proportionate regulation that encourages investment.
• With Government Agencies and Other Stakeholders: Collaboration must extend to entities providing business development services, and promoting financial literacy. The Landscape report also stresses the importance of aligning FinTech development with national strategies like the Digital Economy for Africa diagnostics.

AFI itself is a testament to the power of collaboration and Eswatini is actively embracing this spirit. I can only encourage you further.

In order to reach the last mile, we must be intentional in empowering everyone through accessible and relevant FinTech solutions. I want to say a few words about some critically important groups.

• First, Women: The FinScope data shows that while women own the majority of MSMEs, their businesses are smaller. We can help them grow through targeted digital financial products and digital literacy.
• Next, Youth: With 28% of MSMEs owned by young people, and high youth unemployment, fostering youth entrepreneurship through FinTech access, mentorship, and skills will be critical for Eswatini’s future prosperity.
• Entrepreneurs are the engines of job creation and economic activity. Supporting them, especially the 75% who are independent entrepreneurs, with the right digital financial tools, is paramount.
• Forcibly Displaced Persons and People with Disabilities are especially vulnerable, and fintech innovation presents a transformative opportunity. Through an enhanced data ecosystem – for instance better IDs – and  digital services carefully tailored to their unique needs, FinTech can empower these individuals and foster their meaningful inclusion in society.

Distinguished guests, reaching the last mile through a vibrantm data-driven FinTech ecosystem will take hard work, but it will be worth it. It opens the door to a more equitable, innovative, and prosperous Eswatini.

Getting there will require vision, commitment, innovation, and above all, collaboration. The financial industry, supported by enabling policies, better data management, and a spirit of partnership, will be at the heart of this activity.

The Eswatini FinTech Landscape Report points the way forward. It calls on us to:

• Create an enabling digital finance environment through proportionate regulations.
• Promote a digital Eswatini by promoting initiatives as the digital economy for development diagnostic.
• Develop pathways for FinTech businesses and a supportive start-up ecosystem, addressing talent gaps and funding challenges. 

Let us leave this symposium with renewed determination and concrete strategies to:

• Champion customer-centric financial products
• Harness the power of data to drive decision-making and innovation, and
• Forge strong, actionable partnerships across the entire ecosystem.

Together, we can ensure that the financial system and the burgeoning FinTech landscape in Eswatini serve everyone.

AFI is proud to count the Central Bank of Eswatini, the Ministry of Finance, and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority as valued members of our global network. We stand ready to support you, as you continue to champion financial inclusion and develop your FinTech ecosystem.