The research aimed to identify the indicators of financial inclusion in the world and in Egypt, identify the opinions of a sample of customers of the branches of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate on the extent of activating financial inclusion for the year 2023/2024, and identify the trends and determinants of the dimensions of financial inclusion in achieving sustainable development during the period 2008-2021, with the aim of measuring the individual and joint effects of the interpretive variables expressing financial inclusion (after the availability of financial services - after the use of financial services - after the quality of financial services) on the dependent variable expressing sustainable development (Economic dimension- social dimension- environmental dimension).
The research found many results, including:
- By the end of 2021, it was found that the global index of financial inclusion amounted to about 76% of the population over 16 years old, while this index in Egypt reached about 56.20% by the end of the same year.
- By the end of 2021, the number of bank branches operating in Egypt reached 4,577 branches, with an annual growth rate of about 2.4%, while the number of ATMs reached 16,962 machines, with an annual growth rate of about 11.70% by the end of the same year (as indicators of the availability of financial services).
- By the end of 2021, the total value of deposits in Egypt reached about 4667 billion pounds, with an annual growth rate of about 17.20%, while the total value of loans reached about 5774 billion pounds, with a growth rate of about 15.10% by the end of the same year (as indicators for the use of financial services).
- By the end of 2021, the gross domestic product at current prices in Egypt (as an indicator of the economic dimension of sustainable development) reached about 6663 billion pounds, with a growth rate of about 16.02%, while the unemployment rate in Egypt (as an indicator of the social dimension of sustainable development) reached about 7.4% of the total labor force, with an annual decrease rate of about 1.6%, while carbon dioxide emissions in Egypt (as an environmental indicator for sustainable development) amounted to about 216 million tons, with an annual growth rate of about 2.3%, while the value of loans provided From the Agricultural Bank of Egypt to the agricultural sector about 25.33 billion pounds by the end of the same year.
- The statistical analysis of the opinions of a sample of customers of the branches of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate on the extent of activating financial inclusion for the year 2023/2024, showed that 68.60% of the sample size believe that the available financial services meet the requirements of customers well, and that 68.34% of the sample size use the financial services provided by the bank increasingly and continuously, and that 74.27% of the sample size believe that the bank provides financial services at an acceptable cost and of appropriate quality.
Based on the above, the study recommends the following:
- Increase the number of bank branches, especially bank branches, for Islamic transactions to attract a large segment of customers who wish to deal with banks in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia, increase the number of ATMs and increase the number of points of sale so that these services become available to all segments and groups of society, especially rural and remote areas.
- Increasing and sustaining innovative and advanced financial services such as inter net banking services to facilitate banking transactions, and the need to work to reduce the cost when using various financial services by customers, and work to increase the value of total deposits by attracting more segments of society financially excluded and increasing the value of total loans, especially provided to small and micro enterprises, which provide more job opportunities in order to reduce the unemployment rate and increase loans provided to green projects in order to achieve the dimension Environmental for sustainable development.