As the world changes, Africa's financial policies are gradually changing, too. Today, large donations from donor countries and organizations are important for countries across Africa to develop, but parallel to this, populations across the continent must have access to feasible and coherent financial tools.

Africa's banking system has developed at a fast pace in the last 10 years and mobile banking has taken off in many parts of the continent. Some figures speak for themselves: There are around 445 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world, 70 percent of which do not use the services of financial institutions, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Across the world, the role of enterprises falling in the medium to small categories can simply no longer be ignored – neither can their financing to ensure growth across the sector. Among the developed, medium developed and small income countries, in terms of employment the importance of SMEs is equivalent. In South Africa, 39 percent of SMEs contribute 24 percent of GDP. In Bangladesh, around 90 percent of the units are of this sector. In Japan SMEs provide a contribution of a staggering 70 percent of employment. In China of the total exports, 68 percent is from the SME sector.

The World Economic Forum described the importance of a financial sector thus: A well-developed, inclusive financial sector is like a good transport system. It is the basic infrastructure that everyone in a country - from individuals to governments to businesses of all sizes - depends upon. Attention to the need for inclusive financial sectors has increased in the past several years, as the benefits have become better understood, and because innovative solutions are overcoming long-standing barriers. The right products must be delivered at the right prices in the right places. A credit facility for a rural farmer will be different from one for an urban merchant. Sometimes a savings product will be more suitable than a credit product. Sometimes a commitment savings scheme will have more impact than a regular saving product.

Yet, although finance is a pillar for development and growth, nearly 90 percent of all adults in sub-Saharan Africa do not have a bank account, and are largely excluded from banks, according to OikoCredit.

However, the good news is that nearly 23,000 microfinance institutions, including credit unions, offer microfinance services and most of these institutions offer poor people a possibility to save money. One of the world's most reliable banks, which has kept its triple-A rating throughout the global economic crisis, believes that these very people are the key for financial institutions.  Taking its cooperative basis as a starting point, Rabobank puts the common interest of people and communities first. The key orientation of cooperatives is to create value for customers and not to maximize profitability. They aspire to "build," not to aim at realizing financial objectives only.

According to Rabobank, this economic and social democracy is the foundation of cooperative banking in Europe. "It's a proven, successful business model that is both economically and financially efficient and contributes to social cohesion," says Berry Marttin, Executive Board member responsible for the International Rural and Retail division, Rabobank International. Cooperatives are the motive behind important developments in local economies and communities. So they can be a source of inspiration.

There are many initiatives taking place throughout Africa in terms of providing tools that actually work for people living and doing business in remote areas. One example is the Kenyan Samburu Teachers Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO), which was supported by Oikocredit. With their mobile phone, members can now receive important health information and make bank transactions quickly and safely. This joint mobile banking project between Oikocredit and its partner Samburu Teachers SACCO has resulted in vital improvements in financial services and access to information for people in a remote district in Kenya's north.

Initiatives like these are vital but what needs to be ensured is that the financial sector from the top down are involved in providing real financial tools adapted to real needs and providing "suitable" interest rates and easy access.

The writer is Communications Manager of EMRC – an internationally renowned organization providing a platform for Africa's private and public sector to come together and discuss partnership opportunities- www.emrc.be