Leadership to Enhance Digital Financial Inclusion: Choice, Capabilities and Nudge

Financial inclusion plays the role of a fulcrum in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. At the international level, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, IMF, and OECD have taken initiatives and suggested frameworks that can help achieve financial inclusion. At the national level also, countries have formulated strategies and action plans. Technology-enabled interventions have shown progress toward the usage of digital financial services. Although, technology-based solutions have been implemented and are being used, a better understanding of barriers and enablers is needed for sustainable financial inclusion to reach the remaining underserved population. The non-linear impact of the development process using ICT is often studied with Sen’s capability approach which offers considering development not as an economic growth but as an individual freedom. For operationalization, such studies recommend using the choice framework, which can help to understand the role of ICT by examining the interrelationships among entities, choices, and the context in which the development program is executed. This chapter presents the case of digital financial inclusion in India adopting mobile networks as vehicles. These technologies are means for individuals to enhance their individual capability and collectively progress on the path of digital financial inclusion. The chapter proposes a conceptual framework for digital financial inclusion integrating the capability approach and choice framework. As Individuals make their choices, leaders need to nudge them to make choices that favor the desired outcome.