Artificial Intelligence-Driven Financial Services for Financial Inclusion and Economic Empowerment: A Panacea for Fostering Collaboration and Innovation in Financial Education

Abstract

The rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the financial services landscape, creating new pathways for financial inclusion and economic empowerment, particularly in underserved and developing regions. Financial inclusion, the strategy for assuring availability of accessible, affordable and reliable financial services, is critical for reducing poverty and fostering economic development globally. Despite progress, billions of people worldwide remain excluded from formal financial systems. This paper explored the transformative role of AI-driven financial services and targeted financial education initiatives as the panacea towards bridging these exclusion gaps for inclusive finance, focusing on how technologies such as machine learning, predictive analytics, chatbots, and robo-advisors are enabling access to credit, insurance, savings, and investment tools among low-income individuals and micro-entrepreneurs in developing economies, specifically Nigeria and Kenya.