Global thought leaders to reshape the future of financial inclusion

Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cote D’Ivoire and Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) are co-hosting the global thought leadership conference “Reshaping the Future for Financial Inclusion” in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Friday,  March 1, 2019.

This high-level policy conference is focusing on the future of financial inclusion and how we can build a global vision to provide sustainable financial services to the remaining 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally.

“This is the first event of its kind. We are bringing together leaders and thought leaders from all over the world, the academia, stakeholders, AFI’s membership of central banks, ministries of finance and financial regulators, international organizations, our funders but also the private sector. We want to openly discuss what needs to be done to bring in the remaining 1.7 billion unbanked people into formal financial services,” AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig described the one-day event.

One hundred global thought leaders are examining policies and regulations that have achieved the greatest impact in advancing financial inclusion, can be replicated and scaled to help reach as many financially excluded individuals and business, but also close financial inclusion gender gap. Participants are identifying emerging global trends that can help achieve universal financial inclusion, including opportunities and risks of technological innovation. The high level gathering of global thought leaders aims to mobilize forces by working together to create a long-term vision as a global community and make progress in reaching the remaining 1.7 billion unbanked.

“Hopefully we are going to walk away with a consensus on what the various stakeholders would have to put on their agenda to achieve this very ambitious objective,” AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig emphasized.  

About BCEAO

An active member of the AFI network since January 2011, Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), is a central bank serving eight West African countries, comprising of the West African Economic and Monetary Union including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. As part of their Maya Declaration target, BCEAO is committed to increasing the financial access rate to 75 percent of the population by 2020.

Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cote D’Ivoire

About Since becoming an AFI member in August 2009, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cote D’Ivoire has been instrumental in scaling up financial inclusion efforts in the country. The ministry is committed to the Maya Declaration with ongoing targets on core financial inclusion areas such as establishing a framework for analyzing progress indicators, strengthening consumer protection and empowerment, and implementing the microfinance restructuring plan in Cote D’Ivoire.

About AFI

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) is the world leader on financial inclusion policy and regulation. AFI is a member-owned network of over 100 financial inclusion policy-making and regulatory institutions more than 90 developing and emerging countries around the world, covering up to 85 percent of the world’s unbanked. AFI promotes and develops evidence-based policy solutions that help improve the lives of an estimated 1.7 billion unbanked, almost half of the world’s adult population, who do not have access to formal financial services. Since AFI’s inception in 2008, member institutions reported to have developed and implemented 384 policy changes to advance financial inclusion — leading to 600 million of the unbanked brought into the formal financial system.