CO-EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION OF GENERATION Z IN A SUB-SAHARAN DIGITAL FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

The growing digital consumerism in modern society is associated with higher expectations of customer experience, and as such the business environment is expected to co-evolve by developing more consumer-centric, sharing-based and fastpaced business models. This calls for deeper understanding of consumer aspirations and preferences in a given local context. Therefore, this paper explores the co-evolutionary dynamics of digital financial inclusion of Generation Z against a backdrop of limited understanding of the dynamic complexity of the financial business environment in the digital age. A case study of a digital financial ecosystem in Zambia within sub-Saharan Africa is then employed herein to reveal the co-evolutionary dynamics of financial inclusion of Generation Z within the framework of complex adaptive systems. For this purpose, a system dynamics modelling tool of Causal loop analysis is used to visualise the co-evolutionary dynamics. The paper has demonstrated that digital financial inclusion occurs within a continuum of co-evolutionary dynamics in which the financial institutions build consumer demand for digital financial services based on the participatory accountability and financial capability of the clientele. The paper concludes that digital financial inclusion is an emergent outcome of the complex adaptive behaviour of a financial business ecosystem in the increasingly digitising society. Therefore, development of inclusive financial business models must embrace the digital consumerism of the clientele, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where there is a demographic boom of Generation Z with a growing propensity for digital consumerism.