“Most of our problems are based on finances. Money is always an issue. I have to still provide for both my parents who are not working and make sure they are fed; I must pay their insurance policies because they no longer have the ability to pay them. I don’t earn enough money to afford all of that.” - A 35-year-old man from Lesotho, interviewed as part of the UNCDF Making Access Possible initiative Have you ever tested your financial literacy?

Africa represents a small percentage of the global investment banking business, but the activity is expected to expand in the years to come in view of already apparent economic opportunities. According to Thomson Reuters, the commissions generated by investment banking activities in Africa amounted to $318 million in 2013, of which $232 million was in South Africa alone. This is modest when compared to the levels in the rest of the world, which generated $82.6 billion in commissions in the same year, returning to its levels of 2007.

Please find below the summary of the conference which took place at Convergences World Forum and was coordinated by Anne-Cécile Bras, journalist at RFI.