The first technical meeting of the Working Group of Central Banks of French-speaking nations on financial inclusion—organized by the Directorate of Microfinance and Financial Inclusion—was held at the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) on 5-6 February 2015 in Dakar, Senegal.

This working group was set up at the conclusion of the 21st Conference of Governors of Central Banks of French-speaking countries, held in Dakar 14-16 May 2014. The meeting was attended by representatives of 13 central banks, including the Bank in France, which provides the secretariat of the working group.

The opening ceremony featured remarks from Mr. Patrick Kodjo, Director of Microfinance and Financial Inclusion at the Banque de France, followed by an address of gratitude from Mr. Emmanuel Rocher, Head of the Zone Franc and Service Financing for Development at the Banque de France.

The meeting was an opportunity to learn more about the initiatives undertaken by the G20 on financial inclusion, as part of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and share experiences in French-speaking countries in this area, through the presentations of the BCEAO, the Bank of Algeria, Bank of the Republic of Burundi and Bank Al-Maghrib.

Following the discussions focused on issues of financial inclusion were the identification of issues to be addressed by each central bank, the determination of the expected contributions of each of them and the definition of a work schedule.

Following the discussions, the participants agreed to develop a draft progress report and a final report for submission to the Governors of Central Banks of French-speaking countries during their meetings in 2015 and 2016.

The next meeting of the working group is scheduled for November 2015.