FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

Department of Economic Sciences

Doctoral thesis presented and defended with a view to obtaining the academic degree of Doctor of Economic Sciences

By

MBANTSHI MINGASHANGA Honoré

Works Manager

December 2022

Thesis summary

Mobile financial services, commonly known as mobile banking or mobile money, are among the technological innovations perceived to have enormous potential to facilitate banking inclusion in developing countries. This perception stems from the fact that the majority of unbanked people in these countries generally have a mobile phone and could benefit from mobile banking to access financial services to which they were previously excluded.
Despite the growing literature on the potential of this technological innovation for banking inclusion, little work has been devoted to analyzing the relationship between Mobile Banking and standard indicators of access to banking services, such as bank account ownership and access to credit, in African countries. There is also a paucity of work dedicated to the effects of Mobile Banking on financial institutions in terms of their banking performance, that is, their ability to extend their services to previously unbanked populations. The paucity of work is also noted with regard to the effects of Mobile Banking on the banking of individuals, more particularly, in the context of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This thesis aimed to fill this research gap by proposing to answer the following question: "Does Mobile Banking affect banking inclusion in African countries?". From this main question, three specific questions were derived: Does Mobile Banking affect the holding of bank accounts and access to credit in African countries? What are the effects of Mobile Banking on financial institutions in terms of their banking performance? What are the effects of Mobile Banking on the banking of individuals?
Regarding the analysis of the relationship between Mobile Banking, bank account holding and access to credit, the results of panel data modeling on a sample of 36 countries observed over the period 2012-2019 revealed that the deployment of Mobile Banking positively and significantly affects the number of deposit and loan accounts with commercial banks in African countries.
Regarding the analysis of the effects of Mobile Banking on financial institutions, we relied on data from a survey conducted on a sample of 136 financial institutions operating in 35 African countries. The results from latent variable structural equation modeling indicated that the banking performance of financial institutions is positively and significantly influenced by the extension of geographical reach and the generation of additional revenues induced by the implementation of Mobile Banking.
Finally, regarding the effects of Mobile Banking on individuals in terms of their banking, we conducted a case study of the Pepele Mobile system in ROC. Based on data from a survey conducted on a sample of 816 Pepele Mobile users, the results from latent variable structural equation modeling showed that the banking of individuals is positively and significantly influenced by proximity to access points to financial services and the flexibility of access conditions induced by subscription to the Pepele Mobile system.
As a contribution, this thesis has highlighted the role of Mobile Banking in facilitating banking inclusion, one of the levers that can enable public officials to achieve their objectives in terms of economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation and improvement of the well-being of populations. By presenting Mobile Banking as a technological innovation facilitating the banking of individuals, this thesis has contributed to the advancement of research in economic sciences. Also, as a technological innovation, Mobile Banking can be considered as a shock affecting the supply and demand of banking services insofar as it promotes the extension of the supply (or demand) of financial services in favor of (or on behalf of) people previously excluded from banking circuits.