Bankloch

When we think about the concept of   financial inclusion   and more particularly about   underbanked and unbanked populations , we often picture developing countries where access to banking services is limited. However, it might surprise you to learn that even in developed European countries, where banking services are abundant, a sizable portion of the population remains excluded, falling into the category of the "underbanked". The term "underbanked" refers to individuals or businesses that lack access to the financial services they require to help them manage their money and improve their economic well-being and this at a reasonable (acceptable) cost. This issue is more prevalent than commonly acknowledged and extends beyond financially disadvantaged individuals. There are   four primary causes   of being underbanked: Niche Needs : Some customers have highly specific requirements, rendering the market too small to support dedicated services or products tailore...

In August 2003, I started my professional career as an IT consultant at Accenture. This month marks my 20th work anniversary, a milestone that I celebrate with pride :-). Over these two decades, I have traversed the spectrum of IT project delivery, wearing various hats—developer, tester, business analyst, functional and technical analyst, all the way up to project management, test management, and solution architecture. Yet, despite this experience, I remain consistently amazed at the challenges inherent in delivering IT projects on time, within budget, and meeting the expected quality. While software development is very rational, IT projects are very human and often irrational endeavors. While many managers stare blindly at objective metrics like development mandays or number of lines of code produced, it is essential to recognize that the development effort forms only a fraction of the entire project endeavor. Typically, the stumbling blocks in IT projects do not stem from development...