India, May 16 -- A new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission in Western Asia (UNESCWA) published on Thursday showed nearly 64 per cent of adults in the 22 countries in the Arab region are still without an account - or "unbanked" - a higher number than all other regions of the world and significantly higher than the 24 per cent global average.

Even more impressively, the number of Egyptian women with an account increased by 260 per cent, though gender gaps do remain.

But how you widen financial inclusion overall is a question the Arab region is currently grappling with.

The UNESCWA report warns that this level of financial exclusion will negatively impact economic opportunities and the region's ability to meet Sustainable De...