Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) and AFI are organizing the BCT-AFI Virtual Member Training on Strengthening Agent Network for Digital Financial Services on 28 June till 1 July 2021.

This member training will be based on the Policy Framework To Strengthen Agent Networks For DFS published in October 2020. Developed by AFI’s Africa Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI), this framework captures latest practical and proven knowledge on effective and prudent regulation of agent networks and was endorsed as a policy guide to facilitate in-country financial inclusion policy implementation across the AFI network – in Africa and beyond. It highlights key aspects that should be considered by the regulators and DFS providers to ensure that agent networks are ably managed and do not create undue risk to the consumers of financial services or compromise financial integrity and create any disruptions in the DFS ecosystem.

The objective of this virtual member training is that, at the end of the training, participants will be able to effectively contribute to strengthening their policies that support sustainable growth of agent networks within their jurisdiction. To achieve this, at the end of the trainings, participants will be able to:

• Explain the key aspects that should be considered by the regulators and DFS providers to manage agent networks
• List the role of agents in advancing financial inclusion and addressing the needs of women, youth, the elderly, displaced populations, and other disproportionately financially excluded groups
• Draw lessons from the use of evolved technology by the DFS providers proportionate to emerging trends and business models of the agent networks
• Apply their learning to promote gender diverse agent networks as an enabler for women’s access to formal financial services
• Identify appropriate measures to be considered for the DFS providers when dealing with any kind of emergencies such as COVID-19 in order to ensure uninterrupted access to the underserved and unbanked communities.

The training is intended for senior officials from AFI member institutions who are working to develop policies/frameworks/guidelines especially focusing on DFS agent network. The training will follow AFI’s model of peer learning and will be led by technical experts from the AFI network, BCT and AFI Management Unit.

Should you have any questions regarding this event or how to participate, please contact Capacity.Building@afi-global.org