Bank of Tanzania Governor Benno Ndulu Opening Remarks 2016 Global Policy Forum

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum Welcome Remarks by the Chairman of the AFI Board of Directors, Prof. Benno Ndulu, Governor, Bank of Tanzania, on 8 September 2016 in Nadi, Fiji

Your excellence, Honorable Prime Minister of Fiji,

AFI Executive Director, Alfred Hannig;

Reserve Bank of Fiji, Governor, Barry Whiteside;

Fellows Governors;

Fellows members of AFI network;

AFI Partners;

Colleagues;

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am grateful to be able to welcome you to our 8^th Alliance for Financial Inclusion Global Policy Forum. This is our first GPF as an independent organization and, I am told, the largest GPF that our Alliance has ever held. I recall, the AFI’s first GPF when I delivered the Key Note address, we were then a small gathering, charged with determination to take the journey. We have thus far seen great progress along the way in addressing the barriers of financial inclusion. And the journey continues with better prospects.

I wish to extend my profound appreciation to our host, the Reserve Bank of Fiji, for their great hospitality in hosting us in this beautiful, pristine country and wonderful location. I am certain that under the warm welcome of the Fiji sun, the coming days will find us engaged in inspired discussion and debate.

I would also like to take a moment to appreciate the AFI Management Unit for their support and their continuing efforts to make each GPF the premier event for financial inclusion.

And to our members, partners and distinguished guests, we thank you for the journeys you have taken, both short and long, to be here for the 2016 GPF. Your support and commitment to our Alliance is demonstrated by your presence. Thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

As noted earlier, this is our first GPF as an independent AFI which we have built in the foundations of ensuring member’s ownership, equality, transparency, fairness and accountability . We are grateful to our members who, through their dedicated commitment and support, have made this possible. We also recognize the efforts of the Board Committees and staff of the AFI Management Unit who have worked tirelessly to ensure we reached our independence goal.

I would also like to acknowledge our strategic partners who have supported us through our journey.

These include our funding partners: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the German Ministry of Finance (BMZ), the Omidyar Network and most recently, the Government of Canada through its International Development Research Center (IDRC).

Just as importantly I wish to thank our partners from the private sector who have been participating in the Public Private Dialogue platform to leverage knowledge sharing on innovative solutions for financial inclusion. These include, MasterCard foundation, Visa, Lesthego, and GSMA.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

This year’s theme of Building the Pillars of Sustainable Financial Inclusion continues the tradition of the GPF as a forum to showcase the benefits AFI’s unique cooperation platform.

The GPF is an opportunity to form key action agendas that will help to shape financial inclusion policy formulation, using lessons learnt from our membership, partners, stakeholders and distinguished experts. Together we can demonstrate the benefits of sustainable financial inclusion through implementation of smart policies that address the challenges of ensuring a balance of access, usage and quality.

AFI’s cooperation model remains at the core of our work. It is the common thread that will enable our Alliance to make a difference in the lives the world’s 2 billion unbanked. Now as a fully independent organization, the 2016 GPF represents an opportunity to leverage on this cooperative approach.

Already we are a part of the global implementing partners for financial inclusion and we are working with other international organizations to spur the global financial inclusion agenda. We have shared our collective voice with global partners and with multilateral organizations such as the Standard Setting Bodies.

And over the years, support and recognition for financial inclusion has grown significantly.

In that light, we are happy to see that the Addis Ababa Action gave AFI a mandate to use peer learning and knowledge sharing to spur financial inclusion globally. Likewise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are well aligned with our activities. The international community has recognized something that we in AFI have known for a long time. That financial inclusion is a cross-cutting global issue with the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of billions. AFI core services already support 16 of the 17 SDGs, and I am confident that we will be have a significant impact on the success of these Goals.

But when it comes to commitments and goals, AFI members are already leading the way. Through the principles and commitments of the Maya Declaration, we have seen incredible financial inclusion progress from across our network. The Maya Declaration has been instrumental in development of many National Financial Inclusion Strategies, and this commitment platform will be further enhanced to increase its impact and maintain its significance as an invaluable tool for advancing smart financial inclusion policy.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Look around this room. We have gathered here the very best experiences, ideas, innovations and solutions for financial inclusion. I will therefore encourage all of us over the next two days to take advantage of the opportunity that the GPF provides.  By engaging, sharing and working together we will continue to successfully address the challenges of access to formal financial services, and in so doing, create a more inclusive and prosperous world. AFI is ready now and in a much better position to take on new challenges. However, this comes with responsibilities which we are also ready to shoulder.

Thank you for your attention.