ABSTRACT
There is a strong connection between microfinance banks and the financial inclusion of the base of the pyramid economy. Despite the ongoing digitization of microfinance banks, however, the widening financial exclusion of the base of the pyramid economy is persisting. This work aims to explain why microfinance bank digitization has not promoted financial inclusion at the base of the pyramid economy in Nigeria. The work adopted unstructured interview and observation as methods of data collection. Petty traders were studied because they constitute the largest population of businesses in rural settlements in Nigeria. The work was carried out between March and August 2020. Six rural settlements in Oyo State (Moniya, Idi-Ose and Ajibode) and Osun State (Ede, Ode-Omu, and Gbongan), Nigeria, served as the research contexts. Findings show that prevalent assumptions about what inclusion stands for impede the extent to which microfinance bank digitization promotes financial inclusion at the base of the pyramid economy in Nigeria. The findings show the need to rethink inclusion in order to give more appropriate and adequate meanings to microfinance banks digitization and financial inclusion at the base of the pyramid economy in Nigeria.
