Ladies and gentlemen,

Warm greetings and welcome everyone to the webinar on Strengthening Agent Networks for Digital Financial Services – Regulatory and Industry Perspective. I hope you are all safe and in good health.

Let me begin by thanking you all for your continued support and making time to participate in yet another webinar. Peer learning and support is at the core of the AFI network, an objective these webinars effectively promote. Hence for us at AFI, your continued commitment and participation in our webinars is not just encouraging but critical to our agenda at ensuring that financial inclusion is effectively deepened globally.

The unprecedented, significant shift from cash to digital financial services (DFS) globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the need to review the robustness of agent networks in the delivery of digital financial services. This is especially critical in countries where agent networks are the critical link in extending digital financial services to the last mile and the unbanked.

With an estimated 228 agents per 100,000 adults as compared to 33 ATMs and 11 banks per 100,000 adults, it is quite evident that agent networks are core to integrating digital financial services for financial inclusion. Given their sheer numbers and extensive outreach it is not farfetched to say that the effectiveness of DFS in financial inclusion for the last mile and vulnerable segments such as women, youth, rural populations, IDP/FDPs, informal sector MSMEs amongst others is linked to the effectiveness of the agency network system.

Luckily, our members have taken note, and over the years we have witnessed continued interventions at enhancing regulation and practice of agent networks. Within our membership, we are witnessing increasing reforms and developments in specialized regulation for agent and branchless banking. Likewise, industry is also witnessing evolutions within the scope of agent networks, such as introduction of specialized types of agents to respond to changing use cases and market trends bringing in its new concerns for supervisors. Yet unusual times calls for unusual response. On one hand as members grapple with increased usage of DFS against an ongoing campaign to deepen financial inclusion there will be increased traffic for agent networks. On the other hand, the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown period on business case and operations of agents calls for some attention on how to strengthen agent networks to be resilient to such widespread shocks in order to safeguard financial inclusion at the last mile during periods of crises. As countries progressively transition from the lock down into recovery stage, proactive interventions are important to ensure we are able to sustain the momentum in the usage of DFS especially at the last mile and by vulnerable segments gained through the lockdown.

As we seek to maintain the growth in usage of DFS via agent networks, it is also important for us to review its quality, efficiency and safeguards at the last mile and for  vulnerable segments such as women, youth, rural populations, IDP/FDPs, informal sector MSMEs amongst others. Likewise, we also need to explore further opportunities in enhancing the potential of agent networks to deepen financial inclusion for such segments.

This thus calls for re strategizing across all players – regulators, financial service providers and the agent networks. There is a need for a proactive, “CICO +” approach to ensure effective, secured and sustained financial inclusion to the last mile and vulnerable segments. For our members in Sub-Saharan Africa this is very important as you host the highest number of agents (1.4 million active mobile money agents as of 2018) as well as mobile money accounts (866 million registered account as of 2018).  As the pandemic nudges towards increasing digitalization, it is imperative to look at the role of agents within the perspective of digital transformation of financial services.

Lastly, allow me to mention that we do not seek to re-invent the wheel – for we have taken notice of the various innovations in interventions across the network towards the strengthening of agent network for effective financial inclusion. Yet we also acknowledge that, the capacities, efforts, and impact are not uniform across the network.

Hence this webinar is aimed to provide a platform to share best practices, key lessons, and industry trends in strengthening agent networks from both regulatory and industry perspectives. We anticipate that this will provide relevant ideas, needed peer motivation and network opportunity to enhance members commitment to this agenda.

On this note, I wish to thank you once again for your participation and we look forward to an engaging conversation. I wish you all an insightful and impactful session.

The event is supported by the Mastercard Foundation under AFI’s COVID-19 Policy Response for Africa Region.