Unleashing Potential: The Transformative Power of Financial Inclusion in Fostering Sustainable Rural Development

Despite the growing recognition of financial inclusion's importance in socioeconomic development, the link between financial inclusion and sustainable rural development remains underexplored. This chapter provides a thematic presentation of the potential role of financial inclusion in driving sustainable development in rural areas across the globe. To do this, we undertook a comprehensive search of the academic databases using effectively crafted keywords. As an inclusion criterion, we only considered peer-reviewed journal articles, reports from international research institutions, and policy documents/briefs published within the last 10 years (2014–2024). We examined both quantitative and qualitative studies that have focused on the linkages between financial inclusion and some specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) from the rural perspective. A few articles without a rural focus were also used to draw latent inferences. Our findings revealed that financial inclusion in its unidimensional or multidimensional form is capable of contributing to (i) reductions in poverty in diverse forms, food insecurity, and inequality; and (ii) enhancements in good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality and women’s empowerment, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, innovation, infrastructure, and social services, responsible consumption and agricultural production, and climate change adaptation.