ABSTRACT

Promoting prosperity and protecting the planet at the same time requires us to end poverty and simultaneously promote economic growth and address social needs. This is also reflected in the form of 17 sustainable development goals agenda set by United Nations. Financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler for 7 out of those 17 sustainable development goals. Financial inclusion requires I\individuals and businesses to have access and ability to do financial transactions, payments, get credit and insurance. Cambodia represents one of the fastest growing economies of South East Asia. Financial inclusion is one of the top priorities, articulated by National Bank of Cambodia as well.

This paper examines the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning in accelerating financial inclusion, especially through using alternative credit data to provide credit to thin-file customers. It further evaluates whether such technologies can be leveraged to accelerate the financial inclusion in Cambodia.