Kilimanjaro tops in financial sector countrywide

THE latest released survey conducted by FinScope Tanzania has ranked Kilimanjaro region number one in terms of number of people formally included in the financial sector countrywide.

The region has also the lowest proportion of totally excluded people who have no access to formal and informal financial services.

According to the survey, Kigoma has a higher proportion of formally included people in the financial sector than either Iringa or Tanga.

Financial Sector Deepening Trust Technical Manager, Mr Sosthenes Kewe said that Kilimanjaro's low percentage of totally excluded is partly the product of relatively high levels of semi-formal and informal financial access.

He said that FinScope surveys have helped to make policies that have been designed to improve financial services and encourage more people to use them to greater effects.

Regions with more than 14 per cent of their population formally included in financial services include Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Mjini Magharibi, Ruvuma, Kigoma, Iringa and Tanga.

The survey further revealed regions with 70 per cent or more of its population financially excluded as Kaskazini Pemba as the leading region followed by Manyara, Lindi, Dodoma, Tabora, Singida and Mtwara.

Mr Kewe said that these regions are the worst in terms of the percentage of people exluded from financial services and also may have very poor access to formal financial services.

He said that the survey has also revealed that the number of people excluded from financial services by age group have risen from 16 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent last year and that young people are particularly vulnerable.

He called upon public and private sector to focus much of their efforts on the youth segment in order to enable them access formal or informal financial services.

Mr Kewe further said that there is a 22 per cent increase in number of people who used to use a bank but do not use banking services now and that this is more worrying and a lost opportunity for banks.

The survey further reveals that the number of people who are using formal financial services from banks and insurance companies have risen from 3 per cent to 12 per cent of the population.

He said that many more people are now taking out medical insurance than they were in 2006 and the number of people using mobile phones has soared by 130 per cent.