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Money traders Somalialand
Building banks from scratch: where do you start in a country where people’s only experience of financial services is money traders in the informal economy? Photograph: Andre Epstein/Guardian Witness
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Rachel Banning-Lover
@RBanningLover
Thursday 14 May 2015 12.37 EDT Last modified on Thursday 21 May 2015 08.32 EDT
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After decades of civil war, Somalia’s banking infrastructure is fragile. Much of the country turns to informal money brokers (hawalas) or money transfer organisations for banking services. When foreign banks broke off remittance services over the last year, it showed how important a stronger banking network is for the country, especially as it receives more in remittances than aid.
Somalia is not the only country struggling with half-finished banking infrastructure. Before Burma’s military junta nationalised the banks in 1963, 14 foreign banks operated in the country, more than anywhere else in south-east Asia. Now, the number of branches per person is less than in Afghanistan or Haiti.
Building banks from scratch is not easy, as the world’s newest country South Sudan can attest to. Its largest bank, the Kenya Commercial Bank with 25 branches, was only feasible with Kenyan investment in the country.
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But banks can help to lift people out of poverty. So, what can policymakers, regulators, NGOs and the private sector do encourage building banks that are secure, transparent, and work for low-income consumers? What work is needed to bring different players together? And what role can technology play, both for improving banks’ security and efficiency, but also for reaching their most remote customers?
Join an expert panel on Thursday 21 May, 1–3pm BST, to discuss these questions and more.
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