The Microfinance Review 2013 - " From Microfinance to Financial Inclusion"
Download Document| Date Published | 2014 |
| Version | |
| Primary Author | University of Pretoria |
| Other Authors | |
| Theme | |
| Country | South Africa |
Abstract
The economic environment has remained a challenge during the period under review. High unemployment levels of 23% to 25% have been the Achilles heel of the SA economy, despite a stable level of inflation and interest rates since 2010 and year-on-year GDP growth of between 2.5% and 3.5%. The UNDPs Human Development Index 2012 ranked South Africa 121 out of 187 countries, with an index of 0.629, and below average for medium developed countries. The Multidimensional Poverty Index which looks at indicators of education, health, and overall standard of living, found that 13.4% of South Africans in 2008 lived in multi-dimensional poverty, while another 22.2% were vulnerable to multi-dimensional poverty. While some progress has been made in addressing poverty, much more still needs to be done. This report provides the annual review of all factors of financial inclusion for the year 2013