20 September 2018

Congratulations to Fletcher Fellow Graduates from the AFI network!

AFI is proud to recognize thirteen Fellows from AFI member institutions, who graduated from the Fletcher School Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion (FLPFI) on 5 September, 2018 at the Omega Sochi Hotel in Sochi, Russia. The graduation ceremony took place in the presence of alumni and other friends of the program.

The year-long program is designed for financial inclusion regulators and policymakers from emerging and frontier markets. Newly acquired skills and technical knowhow complement graduating Fellows in their engagement within the AFI network, enabling them to contribute to their institutions in developing and implementing financial inclusion policies. 

This year, Fellows grappled with important and diverse financial inclusion challenges in the areas of digital financial services, women’s financial inclusion, interoperability and cross-border remittances, and SME finance.

AFI recognizes the following Fellows from its network for their outstanding achievement in the FLPFI program:

  1. Ms. Shoheli Afrin, Joint Director, Bangladesh Bank
  2. Mr. Khaled Bassiouny, General Manager, Central Bank of Egypt
  3. Mr. Keneth Oburu Bichang’a, Research and Policy Analyst, Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), Kenya
  4. Ms. Erica Reeves Williams, Assistant Director, Central Bank of Liberia
  5. Mr. Paxon Kaude, Manager, NPS Policy & Oversight, Reserve Bank of Malawi
  6. Ms. Phindu Lipenga, Principal Examiner, ICT, Reserve Bank of Malawi
  7. Marco Antonio Del Rio Chivardi, Alternate General Director for Access to Financial Services, The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV)
  8. Mrs. Hakima El Alami, Deputy Director, Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al-Maghrib)
  9. Ms. Sophia Ojoma Abu, Financial Inclusion Strategy Coordination Specialist, Central Bank of Nigeria
  10. Ms. Faiqa Naseem, Deputy Director, State Bank of Pakistan
  11. Mr. Farzand Ali, Joint Director, State Bank of Pakistan
  12. Dr. Christian Tondo, Director – Financial Inclusion Department, Central Bank of Paraguay
  13. Mr. Muuka Madubeko, Manager – Payment Systems Operations, Bank of Zambia

The Fletcher fellowship creates a space where policymakers can engage in an open dialogue, offering candid and open discussions for knowledge exchange, and identify practical solutions.

Since 2011, seven cohorts comprising of 109 Fellows from 45 countries have graduated, the majority of which hail from AFI member institutions. Fletcher Fellows continue to proactively champion financial inclusion within their institutions as well as maintain proactive engagement in the AFI network. 

AFI’s long-standing collaboration with FLPFI has supported the strengthening of members’ technical capacity and development of leadership skills. Partnership with AFI has provided the FLPFI with a unique opportunity to host its annual graduation at the AFI Global Policy Forum (GPF) as well as to showcase the program to AFI members, recruit new Fellows and help Fellows keep abreast of the new and emerging financial inclusion policy issues.

“It has been a great honor to grow and develop alongside AFI as we both continue to work towards improving the lives of the unbanked around the world,” expressed Jenny Aker, Director of the Fletcher Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion (FLPFI).

Once again, congratulations to FLPFI’s class of 2018!

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