Session: Financial Capability in Africa: Innovation through Evidence, Practice, and Policy (Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference - Recentering & Democratizing Knowledge: The Next 30 Years of Social Work Science)

Introduction & Objectives: The current global economic shocks which were primarily caused by COVID-19 and heightened inequality have worsened financial insecurity and poverty levels, especially in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries with limited government safety nets. Researchers predict a further rise in extreme poverty, baring scalable and innovative economic empowerment mechanisms for improving the financial well-being of millions in SSA. Systems, services, and opportunities that can be leveraged are often out of reach for many people. Many individuals and families are more likely to be excluded from mainstream financial products (for example emergency savings and credit) and are susceptible to financial fraud and catastrophic borrowing through their financial technology (fintech) platforms. Moreover, these vulnerable populations are less likely to have access to financial guidance services such as education and coaching.

Methods & Approach: This symposium sets the stage for discourse on issues pertinent to financial capability, wealth creation, and asset building. Powerpoint presentations of the five papers featured at the symposium will demonstrate the importance of enhancing people's financial literacy, financial inclusion, and access to financial resources. The first of the paper, titled, Effect of Financial Literacy on Poverty Reduction Across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda examines the contribution of financial literacy to poverty alleviation based on data from the InterMedia Financial Inclusion Insights Programs in the three countries. Another paper, Women's Participation in a Savings Group and Depression: A Community-Based Financial Capability Intervention in Mozambique uses a Village Savings and Loan Group (VSLG) as a case study to explore the role of women's participation in savings endeavors in their depression. Focusing on streamlining social work education to capture financial literacy, two papers titled, Financial Capability and Asset Building (FCAB) for Persons with Disabilities in Ghana: The Role of Social Workers and Delivering Financial Capability and Asset Building Curriculum: Strengthening the Competencies of Social Work Faculty highlight the importance of including Financial Capability and Asset Building (FCAB) in social work education curriculum to help social work faculty and social workers acquire finance-related competencies to impart their clients. In line with empowering social workers to enhance their clients employability and financial literacy, the final paper, Financial Capability and Asset Building Curriculum for Social Work Students in the Kenyan Technical and Vocational Training Education System focuses on enriching the curriculum of social work education with topics bothering on financial literacy, inclusion, and access.

Conclusion: Altogether, the empirical and conceptual information presented at the symposium is expected to trigger deeper discourse and broader engagements on financial literacy, inclusion, and access in SSA, drawing greater attention to the potential of FCAB innovations in contributing to improved financial well-being.