BRIDGING THE GAP: AN ANALYSIS OF FINTECH-DRIVEN FINANCIAL INCLUSION FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW)

This study provides a systematic bibliometric analysis of fintech-driven financial inclusion for Southern African smallholder farmers. Financial exclusion severely limits these farmers' productivity and resilience, trapping them in cycles of poverty. Fintech offers transformative solutions through mobile money, digital credit, and insurtech. The research employs a multi-theoretical framework to analyse adoption, impact, and ecosystem dynamics. A review of empirical literature documents both the costs of exclusion and the benefits of inclusion. The methodology involves sourcing relevant documents from the Scopus database for quantitative and thematic analysis. Key findings reveal a field in a state of emergence with exponential growth in publications since 2021. The intellectual structure comprises six thematic clusters, including AI-driven finance and digital ecosystems. Analysis shows a pronounced dependence on knowledge production from outside the African continent. This indicates a gap in locally anchored research perspectives. The study concludes by proposing a critical future research agenda that deepens the contextual and longitudinal studies on fintech adoption and impact. Further research should bridge the implementation gap by examining viable business models; investigating robust consumer protection frameworks for vulnerable farmers; intersectional analysis of how gender, age, and land tenure shape financial access and exploring the synergy between fintech and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.