From 9th to 16th of November, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) hosted a delegation from Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM) for an AFI Joint Learning Program event which explored Egypt’s experience in financial literacy and women’s economic empowerment. 

The Mauritanian delegation, led by Ms. Lalla El Goth, BCM’s General Director of Financial Inclusion Department, heard presentations from CBE leaders including M. Sherif Lokman, Sub-Governor Financial Inclusion Sector, M. Khaled Bassiouny, General Manager for Financial Inclusion and Ms. Sally Abdelkader, General Manager for Financial Literacy.  

The visit covered a range of topics, including Egypt’s financial inclusion journey and strategy, and experience in integrating financial literacy into financial inclusion projects such as the Digital Village Savings and Loan Association project (Tahweesha), which is designed to empower women economically. The visit also covered CBE’s FinTech and Innovation Strategy, and its role in promoting digital financial literacy, as well as CBE’s consumer protection activities. 

There was a field visit to the “Nilepreneurs” initiative, to observe how support is provided to entrepreneurs and small enterprises from ideation to launch. Participants learned how the banking sector provides non-financial and advisory services through Business Development Services Hubs, and visited the Egyptian Banking Institute, where they were introduced to a number of financial literacy initiatives, including the Finlit Hub, a digital platform targeting children, youth, adults, and entrepreneurs, as well as financial service providers, which provides educational content on financial concepts and personal money management. 

The event followed a recent AFI Joint Learning Program which CBE hosted for peers from the Ministries of Finance of Zambia and Eswatini, which explored how to support small businesses to adopt sustainable practices.