Abstract
Green finance (GF) has been highlighted as an avenue to sustainability, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and economic inclusion. Despite the positive contribution of GF to sustainability, GF experiences challenges such as lack of information and data, greenwashing, implementation and regulation, perceived high risk and lack of access. To bridge this gap, financial institutions and governments worldwide have made sustainability pacts and commitments to develop GF products. While some institutions have held up their end and issued GF products, many have not. Where institutions have developed GF products, it has neglected retail consumers, both in practice and literature. Studies that have focused on GF products have mainly focused on investment GF products, such as green bonds and green funds, and have neglected retail GF products, such as green mortgages and green loans. The joint neglect of retail consumers and lack of accountability to climate change by this group of consumers is concerning and has contributed to the conceptualisation of this study. This, therefore, investigated employees’ perceptions of consumers’ awareness and use, respectively; factors that influence their use and access, respectively, of GF products. Lastly, the study formulated strategies that can improve consumers’ access to GF products. This study made of use semi-structured interviews with employees in GF, sustainable finance, ESG and environmental sectors to gain insight into their opinions and experiences regarding access and use. The study found that the GF issuer, the structure of GF, and individuals’ perceptions and beliefs about sustainability influence consumers’ use. In terms of access, the study found that knowledge and information availability, structure of GF, apparent nature of GF, and retail consumers’ profiles influence access to GF products. Lastly, the study found that addressing existing GF barriers, improving education and skills, structuring of GF as accommodative, and stakeholder collaboration are imperative strategies to improving consumers’ access. This study contributes by raising awareness and availing information about GF products. It informs stakeholders about consumers’ awareness, access barriers, use challenges, and roles and responsibilities that they can take on to improve the GF market for retail consumers. An accessible GF market is possible through partnerships that will produce consumer education and upskilling, restructuring of GF to meet consumer needs, capabilities and perceived risky nature.