26 January 2010: Senior policymakers from 10 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia met in Kiev, Ukraine for the Fifth Krakow Policy Forum to discuss how policies can improve access to financial services for all segments of the population.

The Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) and the Microfinance Center (MFC) co-hosted the Forum with CGAP. AFI was invited to present on the progress of the Financial Inclusion Data Working Group. Hayder Al-Bagdadi, AFI Policy and Grant Manager, showcased the Mexican Case and explained how financial inclusion data and measurement is important for countries to monitor and evaluate their own innovative policies to ensure that they are having the maximum impact on the intended beneficiaries.

The region has demonstrated tremendous progress since policymakers first met in Krakow a decade ago, but challenges in developing the regulatory environment coupled with few complementary activities such as limited financial education and consumer protection initiatives has reduced the region’s ability to scale up access to finance. Grzegorz Galusek, Executive Director of the Microfinance Center, reflected “Too little has been done to broaden the range of products to include other financial services that lower income people need. Safe places to save money, and reliable and affordable means of transferring money are services that low income people value highly, and these needs must be addressed”. However, the increasing awareness and commitment among senior policy makers in the region and the endorsement of the “Principles for Innovation Financial Inclusion” at the G-20 Summit in Toronto in July by Russia President Medvedev provides a positive future outlook.