ENIF: National Financial Inclusion Strategy
The Estrategia Nacional de Inclusao Financeira (ENIF) is Angola’s official national financial inclusion strategy, developed under BNA leadership with technical support from the World Bank and other development partners. The strategy establishes quantitative targets, institutional responsibilities, and action plans for expanding access to formal financial services across Angola’s 37.9 million population.
Strategic Framework
ENIF is structured around five pillars:
1. Access to Financial Services
Objective: Increase the share of adults with access to at least one formal financial product from approximately 30-35% to 50%+ within the strategy period.
Key initiatives:
- Expanding agent banking networks to reach rural municipalities beyond the branch footprint of Angola’s 26 commercial banks
- Licensing mobile money operators to provide basic payment and transfer services via mobile phones
- Establishing simplified account tiers with reduced documentation requirements (tiered KYC)
- Promoting microfinance institutions and credit cooperatives as alternatives to commercial banks
2. Digital Financial Services
Objective: Build the digital infrastructure and regulatory framework for a cashless payment ecosystem.
Key initiatives:
- Upgrading the Multicaixa payment switch for real-time digital payments
- Enabling interoperability between bank accounts, mobile wallets, and payment platforms
- Promoting QR code and contactless payment adoption at retail points of sale
- Digitizing government-to-person (G2P) payments (salaries, pensions, social transfers)
3. Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection
Objective: Build the knowledge base that enables informed financial decisions and protects consumers from predatory practices.
Key initiatives:
- Financial education curricula integration in secondary schools
- Public awareness campaigns on savings, budgeting, and responsible borrowing
- Transparent pricing requirements for all financial products
- Complaint resolution mechanisms administered through the BNA
4. Credit Access
Objective: Expand credit to the private sector from the current 14.63% of GDP toward levels that support economic diversification.
Key initiatives:
- Credit guarantee schemes to reduce bank risk in lending to SMEs
- Collateral registry modernization to accept movable assets (inventory, equipment, receivables)
- Credit bureau strengthening to improve borrower information quality
- Targeted credit lines for priority sectors (agriculture, manufacturing, fisheries) under PRODESI
5. Insurance and Long-Term Savings
Objective: Increase insurance penetration from below 1% of GDP and promote long-term savings culture.
Key initiatives:
- Micro-insurance product development for low-income households
- Agricultural insurance pilots to reduce farmer risk and encourage bank lending
- Pension system expansion to cover informal-sector workers
- Capital market participation through savings-linked investment products on BODIVA
Targets and Progress
| Metric | Baseline | ENIF Target | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult account ownership | ~30% | 50%+ | ~30-35% (slow progress) |
| Mobile money accounts | <5% | 25%+ | <15% (growing) |
| Access points per 10,000 adults | ~3 | 10+ | ~5-6 |
| Insurance penetration (% GDP) | <0.5% | 1.5%+ | <1% |
| SME credit access | Very limited | Meaningful expansion | Incremental gains |
Progress has been slower than initial ENIF targets envisioned, reflecting the structural challenges of expanding financial services in a country with vast geographic distances, limited rural infrastructure, and a population where the median age is 16.7 and per capita income is approximately $3,034.
Institutional Coordination
ENIF implementation involves multiple stakeholders:
- BNA: Lead coordinator, regulator, and supervisor of financial inclusion initiatives
- Ministry of Finance: Budget allocation and fiscal policy alignment
- ARSEG: Insurance sector regulator, responsible for micro-insurance framework
- CMC (Capital Markets Commission): Capital market access and investor protection
- AIPEX: FDI promotion for fintech and financial service investments
- Commercial banks: Implementation partners for agent banking and digital products
Outlook
ENIF represents a comprehensive and well-designed strategy that addresses Angola’s financial inclusion gaps across multiple dimensions. The binding constraints on execution are not strategic but operational: building physical and digital infrastructure in remote areas, changing deeply embedded cash-based behavioral patterns, and achieving the economic growth needed to make formal financial services relevant to a broader population. Success will be measured not by strategy documents but by whether Angola’s 26 million unbanked adults gain meaningful access to financial tools that improve their economic lives.