Beyond the Numbers Why Economic Inclusion, Not Just Financial Access, Should Drive Development Policy

Ask not how many accounts have we opened, ask, instead, how many lives have we changed!

In recent years, the development community has celebrated rising rates of financial inclusion across the Global South. Millions have gained access to bank accounts, mobile wallets, and microloans—remarkable progress by any standard. And yet, a more sobering question lingers: Have these financial tools translated into meaningful economic empowerment?

I believe they have not. And I believe it’s time we acknowledge a fundamental truth: Financial inclusion is transactional. Economic inclusion is transformational. If we are serious about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our focus must shift accordingly.

Take the example of Kenya, where mobile money revolutionized access to financial services. While M-Pesa is rightly lauded, vast segments of the population remain economically insecure—especially women and informal workers. In India, government-led account openings under the Jan Dhan Yojana were historic in scale, yet many accounts remained dormant, and economic mobility remained elusive for the poorest. Even in Lebanon, high pre-crisis banking penetration masked deep economic vulnerability, now laid bare.

In Latin America, microfinance institutions have long provided access to credit, but for many borrowers, these loans merely sustain subsistence activities rather than propel them into the formal economy. In Southeast Asia, despite high levels of mobile penetration and digital wallet usage, barriers such as informal employment, lack of labor protections, and limited access to education continue to stifle economic progress.

These cases highlight a crucial disconnect: access to financial services does not guarantee participation in the economy. Financial inclusion may increase the number of transactions, but without enabling structures, it risks becoming a shallow metric—a veneer of progress without its substance.

True economic inclusion goes beyond transactions. It means individuals and communities can:

• Build assets, not just access credit.

• Generate sustainable incomes, not just handle cash flows.

• Scale enterprises, not just survive in the informal sector.

• Participate in shaping their economic environment.

It also means breaking down systemic barriers—legal, educational, and institutional—that perpetuate exclusion. Women entrepreneurs, for instance, often lack access to property rights, financial education, or networks that enable business growth. Persons with disabilities may face physical and digital infrastructure that excludes them from full participation, even when financial services are technically "available."

Economic inclusion calls for integrated, cross-sectoral strategies. It demands investments in human capital, reforms in labor markets, expansion of social protections, and infrastructure that connects people to opportunity. In short, it requires a development approach that views financial tools as enablers, not end goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals—especially Goals 1 (No Poverty), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities)—remind us that access alone is not enough. Progress must be inclusive, equitable, and resilient.

To move forward, we need to rethink how we define and measure success. It’s time to ask: Are we counting accounts, or counting impact?

Let’s invest not just in financial access, but in the conditions that make that access meaningful—education, legal reform, labor inclusion, infrastructure, and representation. Only then can we truly say we are building inclusive, resilient economies for all.

It’s time to move beyond the numbers. Because inclusion that doesn’t lead to transformation is not inclusion at all.