Africa’s population has some of the lowest levels of access to formal financial services, estimated at 41%. The most underserved are women, youth, and those living in remote areas. Where there is access - quality and usage rates remain low due to high transaction costs, estimated at 20% of turnover in some instances. Services can often be insecure and inconvenient.

Sustainable food and agricultural growth in low-income economies can reduce poverty by half, which is key given the population of Africa is expected to double by 2050. The estimated food production waste in Africa is around 37% of the $1 trillion global food waste estimated. Today, 3 billion people, including three-quarters of all Africans cannot afford a healthy diet. If progress on crop yields does not improve, Africa will lose large amounts of its natural habitat to farmland.

Climate change is severely affecting livelihoods and negatively impacting inclusive sustainable economic growth. With only 14% of Africans living in rural areas accessing electricity, more than 500 million people are left behind without access. Investments in clean energy production and access solutions are key to address the challenges involved in expanding production of and access to clean energy whilst addressing the growing climate crisis.