{"id":4558,"date":"2019-07-04T17:19:18","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T16:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/pourquoi-lafghanistan-a-t-il-besoin-de-la-digitalisation-pour-mener-a-bien-linclusion-financiere-2\/"},"modified":"2019-09-17T09:54:52","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T08:54:52","slug":"pourquoi-lafghanistan-a-t-il-besoin-de-la-digitalisation-pour-mener-a-bien-linclusion-financiere-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/pourquoi-lafghanistan-a-t-il-besoin-de-la-digitalisation-pour-mener-a-bien-linclusion-financiere-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pourquoi l’Afghanistan a-t-il besoin de la digitalisation pour mener \u00e0 bien l’inclusion financi\u00e8re"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.25″ background_size=\u00a0\u00bbinitial\u00a0\u00bb background_position=\u00a0\u00bbtop_left\u00a0\u00bb background_repeat=\u00a0\u00bbrepeat\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb0.1″][et_pb_column type=\u00a0\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.25″ custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb0″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb0.1.0″ custom_padding__hover=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb][et_pb_testimonial author=\u00a0\u00bbLuca Borella\u00a0\u00bb job_title=\u00a0\u00bbExpert en finance digitale\u00a0\u00bb quote_icon=\u00a0\u00bboff\u00a0\u00bb quote_icon_color=\u00a0\u00bb#ffffff\u00a0\u00bb quote_icon_background_color=\u00a0\u00bb#ffffff\u00a0\u00bb _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″ body_text_align=\u00a0\u00bbleft\u00a0\u00bb use_background_color=\u00a0\u00bboff\u00a0\u00bb custom_margin=\u00a0\u00bb-4px||0px|0px\u00a0\u00bb custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb0px||0px\u00a0\u00bb border_color_all=\u00a0\u00bb#ffffff\u00a0\u00bb border_color_all_portrait=\u00a0\u00bb#ffffff\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb0″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb0.1.0.0″]
\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.22″ custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb2px|0px|54px|0px|false|false\u00a0\u00bb bb_built=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _i=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.25″ background_size=\u00a0\u00bbinitial\u00a0\u00bb background_position=\u00a0\u00bbtop_left\u00a0\u00bb background_repeat=\u00a0\u00bbrepeat\u00a0\u00bb custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb0|0px|27px|0px|false|false\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb0″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb1.0″ column_structure=\u00a0\u00bb2_3,1_3″][et_pb_column type=\u00a0\u00bb2_3″ _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.25″ custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb0″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb1.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.27.4″ _i=\u00a0\u00bb0″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb1.0.0.0″]Lorsque j\u2019ai dit \u00e0 ma femme que j\u2019allais r\u00e9aliser une \u00e9tude d\u2019impact en Afghanistan, elle fut d\u00e9concert\u00e9e. Je m\u2019attendais, bien entendu, \u00e0 une telle r\u00e9action. L\u2019Afghanistan est bien souvent associ\u00e9 dans les esprits \u00e0 la guerre, le terrorisme et la pauvret\u00e9 extr\u00eame. Mais c\u2019est loin d\u2019avoir toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 le cas. Si vous aviez emprunt\u00e9 le Hippie trail dans les ann\u00e9es 70 pour rejoindre l\u2019inde ou l\u2019Asie du Sud par la route, vous auriez travers\u00e9 l\u2019Afghanistan d\u2019Ouest en Est. Vous auriez visit\u00e9 des villes aussi importantes qu\u2019Herat, o\u00f9 il se dit qu\u2019 \u00ab il \u00e9tait impossible d\u2019\u00e9tendre la jambe sans donner un coup \u00e0 un po\u00e8te \u00bb, et vous auriez pu manger un kebab apr\u00e8s avoir fl\u00e2n\u00e9 dans les rues du vieux Kaboul. Malheureusement aujourd\u2019hui, l\u2019Afghanistan n\u2019est plus connu pour ses march\u00e9s color\u00e9s, et les chefs d\u2019\u0153uvres du po\u00e8te Perse Rumi n\u2019inspirent plus le Monde. <\/span><\/p>\n

Aujourd\u2019hui l\u2019Afghanistan est class\u00e9 169\u00e8me sur 188 selon l\u2019indice de d\u00e9veloppement humain du Programme des Nations Unies pour le D\u00e9veloppement (PNUD) et est donc l\u2019un des pays les plus pauvres du monde. Apr\u00e8s la transition politique en 2014, le nouveau gouvernement a \u00e9chou\u00e9 \u00e0 stabiliser durablement le pays. Les attaques terroristes constantes et autres actes de violence ont profond\u00e9ment impact\u00e9 l\u2019\u00e9conomie, \u00e0 tel point que, en 2017, presqu\u2019un quart (24%) de la population active \u00e9tait au ch\u00f4mage. <\/span>
\nEn mai 2019, le pr\u00e9sident Afghan a convoqu\u00e9 une <\/span>loya jirga<\/span><\/i> afin de mettre en place une strat\u00e9gie commune pour de futures n\u00e9gociations avec les Talibans. Cette assembl\u00e9e devrait pouvoir permettre au pays de retrouver une certaine stabilit\u00e9 apr\u00e8s dix ans d\u2019invasion sovi\u00e9tique, les ann\u00e9es sanglantes des talibans au pouvoir et la guerre contre le terrorisme men\u00e9e par les Etats-Unis. A cela s\u2019ajoute le r\u00e9chauffement climatique qui repr\u00e9sente une menace grandissante pour la population Afghane, et en particulier pour les plus pauvres. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beaucoup d\u2019organisations internationales et r\u00e9gionales investissent du temps, des efforts et de l\u2019argent afin d\u2019aider le pays et sa population. Parmi elles quatre institutions de microfinance (IMFs) accordent chaque ann\u00e9e plus de 130 000 pr\u00eats aux Afghans exclus du secteur financier traditionnel.
\nCommissionn\u00e9s par le Microfinance Investment Support for Afghanistan (MISFA), nous avons pass\u00e9 quatre mois en 2018-2019 afin d\u2019analyser l\u2019impact de la microfinance sur les conditions de vie des clients. Nos recherches ont montr\u00e9 que la microfinance avait un impact positif sur la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Afghane, en jouant le r\u00f4le de filet de s\u00e9curit\u00e9 pour les plus pauvres, tout en permettant la croissance de micro-entreprises. Cependant, une grande partie de la population Afghane n\u2019est couverte par les services des IMFs, particuli\u00e8rement les habitants des zones recul\u00e9es et peu s\u00fbres. Selon la base de donn\u00e9es Global Findex, 30% des Afghans de plus de 15 ans n\u2019ont pas de compte bancaire, car les institutions financi\u00e8res sont situ\u00e9es trop loin.<\/p>\n

L\u2019analyse des donn\u00e9es que nous avons r\u00e9colt\u00e9es a montr\u00e9 que les institutions de microfinance Afghanes sont sur le point d\u2019adopter la finance num\u00e9rique. C\u2019est un vrai tournant pour les pays sous-d\u00e9velopp\u00e9s qui souffrent de conditions \u00e9conomiques, sociales et politiques d\u00e9favorables. D\u2019apr\u00e8s un r\u00e9cent rapport du C-GAP intitul\u00e9 Fintech and Financial Inclusion<\/a>, la r\u00e9volution digitale et les fintech permettent de rendre la finance accessible \u00e0 tous, y compris aux individus et entrepreneurs sans historique de cr\u00e9dit. Les nouvelles technologies aident \u00e9galement les institutions financi\u00e8res et autres associations de d\u00e9veloppement \u00e0 suivre leurs clients efficacement et \u00e0 leur proposer des services plus adapt\u00e9s, tout en r\u00e9duisant les co\u00fbts op\u00e9rationnels. Dans un pays comme l\u2019Afghanistan en particulier, la digitalisation des services bancaires et des payements permette aux IMFs de r\u00e9duire les co\u00fbts li\u00e9s \u00e0 la provision de services financiers et non-financiers \u00e0 leurs clients. Plus important encore, les nouvelles technologies aident les IMFs \u00e0 atteindre des clients plus isol\u00e9s, habitants dans des zones \u00e0 faible densit\u00e9 de population et haut risque s\u00e9curitaire. <\/span><\/p>\n

En s\u2019attardant sur les caract\u00e9ristiques de l\u2019Afghanistan, on remarque que, en dehors de sa situation politique instable, le secteur des technologies de l\u2019information et de la communication (TIC) a connu une croissance fulgurante ces derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es. L\u2019index \u00ab GSMA mobile connectivity \u00bb est de 20,41 sur 1001<\/a><\/sup>, accordant \u00e0 l\u2019Afghanistan le statut de \u00ab d\u00e9couvreur \u00bb, i.e un pays ayant une grande marge de progression pour les quatre leviers2<\/a><\/sup> et de faibles taux de couverture pour la t\u00e9l\u00e9phonie mobile et internet. <\/span> En Janvier 2019, le GSMA a estim\u00e9 que, en Afghanistan, 77% de la population utilise les produits et services (en majorit\u00e9 pr\u00e9pay\u00e9s) de quatre op\u00e9rateurs priv\u00e9s et d\u2019un op\u00e9rateur public, soit une augmentation de 10% depuis janvier 2018. Il y a 36,79 millions utilisateurs d\u2019internet, ce qui repr\u00e9sente seulement 26% de la population totale, mais une augmentation de 142% depuis Janvier 2018. De plus, la plupart des usagers d\u2019internet utilisent un mobile pour se connecter. Selon le World Bank feasibility assessment<\/a>, les principaux obstacles \u00e0 la mise en place d\u2019un secteur d\u2019applications mobiles en Afghanistan sont i) l\u2019absence des comp\u00e9tences et exp\u00e9riences n\u00e9cessaires \u00e0 la mise en place d\u2019un secteur d\u2019applications mobiles (et l\u2019absence des ressources n\u00e9cessaires pour le d\u00e9veloppement de ces comp\u00e9tences); ii) le manque de sensibilisation sur le potentiel des technologies mobiles; iii) les obstacles dus aux nombreuses langues parl\u00e9es et au faible niveau d\u2019anglais.<\/p>\n

En ce qui concerne la finance digitale, bien que le pourcentage des personnes ayant fait ou re\u00e7u un payement digital3<\/a><\/sup> ait atteint les 11% en 2017 contre 6% en 20144<\/a><\/sup>, c\u2019est encore bien en dessous des niveaux atteints par les pays voisins comme le Pakistan (ou l\u2019Iran, bien que moins comparable). Par exemple en Afghanistan, seulement 1% de la population \u00e2g\u00e9e de plus de 15 ans avait un compte bancaire mobile en 2017 contre 7% au Pakistan (et 26% en Iran). Il faut noter qu\u2019au Pakistan, les portefeuilles mobiles furent introduits en 2009 avec Easypaisa, et forts de leur succ\u00e8s, furent vite imit\u00e9s par d\u2019autres initiatives. <\/span> Parmi les autres barri\u00e8res \u00e0 l\u2019adoption de la finance digitale par les Afghans, on trouve le haut degr\u00e9 de scepticisme par rapport \u00e0 la monnaie digitale, ainsi que le poids important de l\u2019\u00e9conomie informelle. En 2005, la Banque Mondiale estimait qu\u2019entre 80 et 90% de l\u2019activit\u00e9 \u00e9conomique en Afghanistan relevait du secteur informel5<\/a><\/sup>. Les donn\u00e9es que nous avons collect\u00e9es donnent des r\u00e9sultats comparables. <\/span><\/p>\n

N\u00e9anmoins, les business informels pourraient se formaliser, si c\u2019\u00e9tait dans leur int\u00e9r\u00eat. Il faudrait les y inciter en proposant des services digitaux qui requerraient que l\u2019activit\u00e9 soit formalis\u00e9e ou en cours de formalisation. Ces services pourraient \u00eatre fournis par des IMFs ou en partenariat avec un fournisseur tiers, comme une banque, une entreprise de fintech ou un op\u00e9rateur t\u00e9l\u00e9phonique. Par exemple, une IMF qui pr\u00eate de l\u2019argent \u00e0 ses clients pourrait collaborer avec une banque traditionnelle afin d\u2019offrir des livrets d\u2019\u00e9pargne sans avoir \u00e0 postuler \u00e0 l\u2019agr\u00e9ment bancaire complet, car les services d\u2019\u00e9pargne seront fournis par la banque partenaire. Un autre exemple fr\u00e9quent est celui du fournisseur de payements digitaux qui collabore avec un op\u00e9rateur mobile et peut ainsi utilise son r\u00e9seau.
\nAfin de mettre en place ces nouvelles activit\u00e9s, les IMFs doivent am\u00e9liorer leurs syst\u00e8mes informatiques et les rendre interop\u00e9rables avec ceux des fournisseurs tiers. Il faut \u00e9galement que les r\u00e9gulateurs \u00e9tablissent des normes et favorisent la standardisation tout en s\u2019assurant que les lois existantes ne freinent pas l\u2019innovation en mati\u00e8re de finance digitale. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pour r\u00e9sumer, la route est longue pour faire de l\u2019Afghanistan un pays s\u00fbr. La s\u00e9curit\u00e9 est absolument primordiale pour un pays et sa population, afin de croitre et se d\u00e9velopper \u00e0 nouveau apr\u00e8s quatre d\u00e9cennies de guerre et de terreur. Maintenant que la paix n\u2019a jamais \u00e9t\u00e9 aussi proche, l\u2019<\/span>Intelligentsia<\/span><\/i> Afghane a l\u2019obligation morale de r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir au transfert des capitaux qui arriveront dans le pays une fois que le risque politique sera r\u00e9duit. L\u2019innovation financi\u00e8re, les services bancaires mobiles et la digitalisation peuvent \u00eatre des outils pour acc\u00e9l\u00e9rer ce processus, et mettre ces capitaux au services des plus pauvres, de ceux qui en ont le plus besoin. Davantage d\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 et d\u2019opportunit\u00e9s m\u00e8nera le paix vers une paix durable. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2191<\/a><\/a>1<\/sup> L\u2019index \u00ab GSMA mobile connectivity \u00bb mesure la performance de 163 pays pour quatre leviers diff\u00e9rents, dans le domaine de la connectivit\u00e9 internet : Infrastructure, Accessibilit\u00e9, Volont\u00e9 des consommateurs et Contenu et services. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2191<\/a><\/a>2<\/sup> Infrastructure, Accessibilit\u00e9, Volont\u00e9 des consommateurs et Contenu et services.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2191<\/a><\/a>3<\/sup> Le pourcentage de sond\u00e9s disant avoir utilis\u00e9 de la monnaie digitale, une carte de d\u00e9bit ou de cr\u00e9dit ou un t\u00e9l\u00e9phone mobile pour faire un payement depuis un compte bancaire, ainsi que ceux affirmant avoir utilis\u00e9 internet pour payer leurs factures ou acheter quelque chose en ligne, ces 12 derniers mois. Cela comprend \u00e9galement les sond\u00e9s disant payer leur factures, envoyer ou recevoir des virements, recevoir des payements pour produits agricoles, des transferts gouvernementaux, leur salaire ou leur pension de retrait\u00e9 du secteur public, et ce \u00e0 travers leur compte aupr\u00e8s d\u2019une institution financi\u00e8re ou sur leur compte de monnaie digitale, depuis ces 12 derniers mois.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2191<\/a><\/a>4<\/sup> https:\/\/globalfindex.worldbank.org\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2191<\/a><\/a>5<\/sup>Rasmussen, Steve. The Current Situation of Rural Finance in Afghanistan. The World Bank. 2005<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo: Proparco PR material<\/span>
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\n[\/et_pb_button][et_pb_comments show_avatar=\u00a0\u00bboff\u00a0\u00bb admin_label=\u00a0\u00bbComments blog\u00a0\u00bb _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb3.19.17″ saved_tabs=\u00a0\u00bball\u00a0\u00bb _i=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _address=\u00a0\u00bb1.1.0.1″][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lorsque j\u2019ai dit \u00e0 ma femme que j\u2019allais r\u00e9aliser une \u00e9tude d\u2019impact en Afghanistan, elle fut d\u00e9concert\u00e9e. Je m\u2019attendais, bien entendu, \u00e0 une telle r\u00e9action. L\u2019Afghanistan est bien souvent associ\u00e9 dans les esprits \u00e0 la guerre, le terrorisme et la pauvret\u00e9 extr\u00eame. Mais c\u2019est loin d\u2019avoir toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 le cas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" _builder_version=\"3.19.17\" custom_margin=\"0px||0px\" custom_padding=\"0px||0px\" next_background_color=\"#000000\"][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=\"on\" use_custom_gutter=\"on\" gutter_width=\"1\" custom_padding=\"0px||0px|\" custom_margin=\"0px||0px|\" _builder_version=\"3.19.17\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_post_title meta=\"off\" featured_placement=\"background\" _builder_version=\"3.19.17\" title_text_color=\"#ffffff\" use_background_color_gradient=\"on\" background_color_gradient_start=\"rgba(0,0,0,0.5)\" background_color_gradient_end=\"rgba(0,0,0,0.5)\" background_color_gradient_direction=\"360deg\" background_color_gradient_start_position=\"40%\" background_color_gradient_overlays_image=\"on\" text_orientation=\"center\" custom_padding=\"100px||100px\"]\r\n\r\n[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"3.0.48\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_testimonial author=\"Luca Borella\" job_title=\"Expert in digital finance\" quote_icon=\"off\" quote_icon_color=\"#ffffff\" quote_icon_background_color=\"#ffffff\" _builder_version=\"3.19.17\" body_font=\"||||||||\" body_text_align=\"left\" use_background_color=\"off\" border_color_all=\"#ffffff\" border_color_all_portrait=\"#ffffff\" custom_margin=\"-4px||0px|0px\" custom_padding=\"0px||0px\"]\r\n\r\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" _builder_version=\"3.0.47\" custom_padding=\"2px|0px|54px|0px|false|false\" prev_background_color=\"#000000\"][et_pb_row custom_padding=\"0|0px|27px|0px|false|false\" _builder_version=\"3.0.48\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\"][et_pb_column type=\"2_3\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"3.19.17\"]\r\n\r\nWhen I told my wife that I was going to start a microfinance impact assessment project in Afghanistan, she was very confused. And I was, of course, expecting such a reaction. People associate Afghanistan with war, terror, and extreme living conditions. But this has not always been the case. If you had travelled along the Hippie Trail in the 70s and reach India or South Asia by road, you would have crossed Afghanistan from West to East.1 You could have visited heritage cities like Herat, where one \u201ccouldn\u2019t stretch a leg without poking a poet in the ass\u201d, or you could have eaten a kebab after roaming the streets of Old Kabul. Unfortunately, nowadays Afghanistan is not famous for its colourful markets, nor because people get inspired by reading the masterpieces of the great Persian poet Rumi. <\/span>\r\n\r\nToday, Afghanistan ranks 169th out of 188 countries in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index, thus being one of the poorest countries in the world. After the 2014 security transition, the new Afghan government was not able to stabilise the country. The constant attacks carried out by terrorist organizations and other acts of violence influenced the economic situation so deeply that, in 2017, almost one quarter (24%) of the country\u2019s labour force was unemployed. <\/span>\r\nIn May 2019 the Afghan president held a <\/span>loya jirga<\/span><\/i> to find a common strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban. The outcome of the council would help stabilise a post-war country that had faced, consecutively, \u00a0a 10-year long Soviet invasion, a dreadful Taliban rule and a US-led war against global terrorism. Additionally, global warming and climate change represent a growing threat to the Afghan population, especially the poor. <\/span>\r\n\r\nMany international and regional organisations are investing time, efforts and money in helping the country and its people. Among them, there are four MicroFinance Institutions (MFIs) disbursing more than 130,000 loans every year to people not eligible to receive one from the traditional banking sector.\r\nBased on Microfinance Investment Support for Afghanistan (MISFA) request, we spent four months in 2018\/19 analysing the impact of microfinance interventions on the client\u2019s households. According to the data collected, the microfinance sector has had a positive impact on Afghan society because it has acted as a safety net for the poorest, in addition to fostering the growth of micro-businesses. However, there is still a significant part of the population that is not covered by MFIs services, especially people living in remote or unsecured areas. According to the Global Findex Database, 30% of people (age 15+) living in Afghanistan have no bank account because financial institutions are too far away.\r\n\r\nThe data analysed also show that MFIs in Afghanistan are in the process of embracing digital finance. This is a crucial point in history for the underdeveloped countries that have been lagging behind due to unfavourable economic, social and political circumstances. According to a recent CGAP report titled \u201c<\/span>Fintech and Financial Inclusion<\/span><\/a>\u201d, the digital revolution and fintech business models make finance accessible to unbanked individuals and entrepreneurs without a secure credit past. On the other hand, affordable technologies help financial institutions and other development organisations keep track of clients more effectively, reduce operational costs, and provide more customised services. Particularly, in countries like Afghanistan, mobile banking and digital payment services would help MFIs reduce the cost of providing financial and non-financial products to their clients. Most importantly, it would help them increase the number of clients especially in remote areas with low population density and high-security risk.<\/span>\r\n\r\nLooking at the country fundamentals, in spite of the unstable political situation, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in the country has witnessed remarkable growth. The GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index scores at 20.41 out of 1001<\/a><\/sup>, thus classifying Afghanistan as a \u201cDiscoverer\u201d, i.e. a country that shows room for improvement across all four enablers2<\/a><\/sup> and have correspondingly low levels of mobile internet penetration. <\/span>\r\nAs of January 2019, GSMA estimated that in Afghanistan, 77% of people utilize the products and services (mostly prepaid) of four private mobile companies and one state-owned company, increased by 10% from January 2018. There are 36.79 million internet users, this represents just 26% of the total population, but has increased by 142% from January 2018 to January 2019 (+6 million). Moreover, most internet users are using mobile devices.\r\nConcerning the gaps for developing a mobile application sector in Afghanistan, according to a World Bank feasibility assessment<\/span><\/a>, the most important are i) lack of relevant skills and experience needed for the mobile app market (and also the absence of resources needed to provide these skills); ii) lack of awareness as far as the potential of mobile technology is concerned; iii) barriers because of the use of multiple languages and low levels of English language fluency. <\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to digital finance usage, even though the percentage of people who made or received a digital payment3<\/a><\/sup> grew to 11% in 2017 from 6% in 20144<\/a><\/sup>, it is still very low compared to neighbouring countries like Pakistan (or Iran, which is less comparable). For instance, in Afghanistan, only 1% of the population (age 15+) had a mobile money account in 2017, while Pakistan boasted 7% (in Iran 26%). It is worth noting that in Pakistan, mobile wallets were introduced in 2009 with Easypaisa, and they experienced such a great success that other initiatives have followed suit. <\/span>\r\nOther factors that hamper clients\u2019 adoption of digital finance in Afghanistan are firstly a certain degree of scepticism when it comes to e-money, and secondly, a high level of informal economy. Back in 2005, the World Bank estimated that between 80 to 90% of the economic activity in Afghanistan occurs in the informal sector5<\/a><\/sup>. The data we recently collected during our assignment drew a similar picture. <\/span>\r\n\r\nNevertheless, informal businesses could become formal if they think it is convenient for them. This can be done by offering digital services that require the business to be registered or in the process of doing so. The services could be delivered by the MFIs themselves or in collaboration with a Third Party Provider (TPP), like a bank, a fintech, or a telco. For instance, an MFI that typically lends money to its clients could partner with a traditional bank and offer saving products without having to apply for a full banking licence, because the product would be provided by the partner bank. Another common example is a digital payment system that leverages the already-established network of a mobile operator. <\/span>\r\nIn order to experiment with these new business models, financial institutions should make their IT systems more open and interoperable with the one of TPPs; in addition to regulators setting common standards and fostering standardisation and interoperation across multiple industries, all whilst making sure that existing regulations do not slow down financial innovation.\r\n\r\nTo summarise what has been written so far, there are still many goals to accomplish in order to make Afghanistan a safe country to live in. Safety is key for the country and its people to develop and recover from the past four decades of war and terror. Now that peace has never been so close to becoming a reality, the Afghan <\/span>Intelligentsia<\/span><\/i> has the moral obligation to start thinking about how to channel the capital that will flow into the country once the political risk has been reduced. Financial innovation, mobile banking, and digitalization could be the tools to accelerate this process, making capital easily accessible to the poorest, who are the people who need it the most. More equality and opportunities for them would translate to an enduring peace and a more stable country. <\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2191<\/a><\/a>1<\/sup>The GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index measures the performance of 163 countries against four key enablers of mobile internet connectivity \u2013 infrastructure, affordability, consumer readiness and content and services.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2191<\/a><\/a>2<\/sup> Infrastructure, Affordability, Consumer Readiness and Content.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2191<\/a><\/a>3<\/sup> The percentage of respondents who report using mobile money, a debit or credit card, or a mobile phone to make a payment from an account, or those who report using the Internet to pay bills or to buy something online, in the past 12 months. It also includes respondents who report paying bills, sending or receiving remittances, receiving payments for agricultural products, receiving government transfers, receiving wages, or receiving a public sector pension directly from or into a financial institution account or through a mobile money account in the past 12 months<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2191<\/a><\/a>4<\/sup> https:\/\/globalfindex.worldbank.org\/<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2191<\/a><\/a>5<\/sup>Rasmussen, Steve. The Current Situation of Rural Finance in Afghanistan. The World Bank. 2005<\/span>\r\n\r\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_3\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/moped-2252091_1920.jpg\" _builder_version=\"3.19.17\"]\r\n\r\n[\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"3.17.6\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_button button_url=\"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/news\/\" button_text=\"Back to the news\" button_alignment=\"center\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" custom_margin=\"50px|||\"]\r\n\r\n[\/et_pb_button][et_pb_comments _builder_version=\"3.19.17\" show_avatar=\"off\" show_count=\"off\" \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-fr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microfinanza.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}