Nine AFI member institutions from eight nations attended the inaugural meeting of the AFI Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group during the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Launching of the Financial Inclusion Strategy (FIS) and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) on 23-24 October 2012 in Abuja, Nigeria.

The AFI Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group was established in response to the strong demand across the AFI Network for peer learning on the topic of financial inclusion strategy development to complement the existing peer learning channels for particular policy topics such as mobile financial services (MFS) and financial inclusion data, and because as an Implementing Partner for the G20 Financial Inclusion Peer Learning Program (PLP), AFI will support the peer learning activities of the 17 countries that made commitments to the G20 PLP during the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico in June 2012 to develop national financial inclusion strategies and national coordination mechanisms, as well as to share their experiences as they progress through the program.

At the meeting, CBN, Ministère de l’Economie et des finances du Sénégal, Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG), Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Banque de la République du Burundi (BRB), Ministère des Finances et de la Planification du Développment Economique (Burundi), Banco de Moçambique (BM), Banque Centrale de Madagascar (BCM) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) all participated in discussions to take stock of current global trends in financial inclusion strategy, and to develop a roadmap for how the group can assist members to develop and implement financial inclusion strategies. United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and World Bank also participated as external experts, and there were special presentations from Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), Nigeria, and Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI).

The group shared knowledge on the current status of financial inclusion strategy development across the AFI network with discussions on the country experiences of Nigeria, as well as the other countries represented at the meeting, and identified key learning questions within particular topics of importance to strategy development and implementation.

Participants also identified the key challenges and barriers to strategy development and implementation to focus on moving forward:

• Achievement of a shared vision amongst all key stakeholders;
• Find the most effective models for national coordination;
• Establishment of clear leadership and mandate within the country;
• Find the correct incentives to engage the private sector in the strategy process;
• Resources (particularly human resources) to devote to strategy and coordination relative to other responsibilities;
• Identify the right implementation mechanism for the strategy. 

The meeting concluded with the election of three interim co-chairs; SBP, BM, and the Ministère de l’Economie et des finances du Sénégal. Established in support of AFI’s role as Implementing Partner of the G20 Financial Inclusion Peer Learning Program, the group will hold its next meeting in the first quarter of 2013 with one of the focuses being the decision of whether or not to formalize this peer learning group as a formal AFI Working Group with fixed membership, charter and branded products.