The Bank of Sierra Leone contracted the services of a Geospatial Science Consultant to undertake the Geospatial Data Analysis and Mapping for Financial Inclusion Project. The project had four main objectives including: To map out current and potential access points
To overlay access points with population, economic activity, financial behaviors, telephone networks, postal offices, and other parameters.
To identify underserved areas and areas ready for financial service expansion and optimum/maximized opportunities.
Provide information that will help assess the strategic placement of current and potential financial products and access channels and, potentially build a business case for reforms and the expansion of products and services in new areas. At the end of the study, more than one thousand eight hundred financial access points were mapped. On 23 January 2018, the final report was launched at the Bank Complex in Kingtom. The launching ceremony provided a unique opportunity for stakeholders in the financial sectors to gain an insight of the financial services penetration and areas that need expansion. In addition to the final report, the following products of the mapping exercise are provided for wider dissemination through the BSL website. Data in Microsoft Excel format of the different categories of access points, Static maps depicting the spatial distribution of all access points, Interactive dashboard of access points visualized at both district and chiefdom levels, and An Interactive WebGIS platform of financial access points.
