The G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) held their GPFI Coordination Board Meeting in Paris on 12 May to review progress on their work plan and agree on the next steps. Meeting participants consisted of co-chairs of the GPFI and its sub-groups, non-G20 partners (Kenya, Philippines, and Netherlands), and the three implementing partners (AFI, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor- CGAP, and International Finance Corporation- IFC).

Participants discussed the progress of the three GPFI sub-groups which focus on the Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion (the Principles) and engagement with Standard Setting bodies (SMEs), SME finance, and financial inclusion data and measurement. Other topics included the upcoming GPFI Forum scheduled to take place on 1 October, organized by the Ministry of Finance- Mexico and AFI, and the subsequent G20 Cannes Summit in France in November. Further discussions involved the outreach of the GPFI concerning its efforts to connect with the private sector by reporting on the winning proposals for its SME Finance Challenge.

Key to the organization’s outreach are the Principles which AFI helped draft and is in the process of promoting. To foster their use, AFI has presented them at a number of events this year already, and will continue disseminating them at international events into the future. In addition, AFI will further promote the Principles through a brochure and create a comprehensive report of ten country cases to highlight how to successfully apply them.

Encouraging Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs) to incorporate financial inclusion appropriately in their work is another priority for the GPFI. To accomplish this, CGAP will distribute a white paper to raise awareness and frame the issue. For its part, AFI will develop case studies concerning the challenges countries face in enabling financial inclusion while complying with standards set by SSBs at the same time.

Pivotal to the GPFI’s efforts are the Core Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators developed by AFI’s Financial Inclusion Data Working Group (FIDWG) which were presented by Alejandro Vazquez Zavala of CNBV Mexico. The Core Set will be leveraged within the work of the GPFI to harmonize global data collection efforts.

Kenya, Philippines, and Netherlands added significant knowledge to the meeting as non-G20 partners. Experts such as the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya and AFI Steering Committee Chair, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, and Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and AFI Steering Committee Co-chair, Nestor Espenilla Jr., contributed important insights to the proceedings.

It was clear from the meeting that momentum on financial inclusion is strong within the G20. The current G20 Chair, France, and the incoming Chair, Mexico, along with other countries, expressed dedication to keeping financial inclusion as a pillar of the G20. As Yongbeom Kim, Co-Chair of the GPFI, said in his opening remarks, “Together, I truly believe we can make a big difference, and we have the advantage of leveraging the most prominent global platform, the G20.” Through this association, AFI has been bringing the voice of its network to the global forefront.