Following two years at the helm of AFI’s African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI), Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée Governor Dr. Louncény Nabé passed the position of regional initiative chair to Bank of Tanzania Governor Prof. Florens D.M.A Luoga.

“As I hand over the baton to my brother and friend, the governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania, I firmly believe that under his leadership, AfPI will continue to provide services to member institutions by further boosting financial inclusion policies in favor of our populations,” he said.

During the AfPI Leaders’ Roundtable on 20 August, Governor Dr. Nabé also congratulated Central Bank of Seychelles Governor Caroline Abel on her election as vice chair of AfPI.

AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig thanked the former chair for his active engagement in the region and the global network, emphasizing the significant collaborations of Guinea’s central bank.

Governor Prof. Luoga described it as an “honor” to assume the role, adding that he looks forward to “enhanced collaboration among the leaders”.

“The success of AfPI will require concerted efforts. Let’s keep the collaborative spirit and expand financial inclusion in Africa,” he said.

In her acceptance speech, Governor Abel urged her peers to pursue “unconventional thinking and approaches” to further AfPI’s financial inclusion mission, including through a focus on digitalization, financial technology, green finance, consumer protection, financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), disaggregated data and financial education.

“Central Bank of Seychelles is a firm believer in the power of connections and exchange of experiences, which the AfPI platform enables to happen between Africa leaders and regulatory institutions in discussing financial inclusion and promoting innovate and effective solutions,” she said.

Congratulating Governor Abel, Dr. Hannig highlighted that she “will bring us a little closer to the progress made under the Denarau Action Plan (DAP) when we asked for diverse leadership” as she  takes over the torch to lead AfPI into the DAP implementation

DAP targets to accelerate the progress of women’s financial inclusion by halving the financial inclusion gender gap across AFI member jurisdictions by 2021 and  contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 5 on gender equality.

The leaders also endorsed the two regional policy frameworks being developed by the initiative’s expert group.

Policy Framework on Strengthening Agent Networks for Digital Financial Services aims to provide policy guidance to regulators within the AFI network for building, regulating and nurturing effective and successful agent networks. It is intended as a tool for sharing best practices and strengthening the capacity of AFI members to regulate and supervise agent networks in Africa. The policy framework covers agent networks, for banking and non-banking financial service providers.

Meanwhile, Policy Framework to Enhance MSME Financing Ecosystem in Africa is designed to guide members develop appropriate interventions to enhance access to finance for MSMEs in the region. Its 21 principles aim to address various obstacles MSME financing, including legal and regulatory frameworks, payment systems, technology, data and climate change.

Launched in 2013, AfPI is the primary platform for AFI members in Africa to support and develop financial inclusion policies and regulatory frameworks, and to coordinate regional peer learning efforts. From AFI’s regional office in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, AfPI brings together high-level representatives from African financial policymaking and regulatory institutions to enhance the implementation of innovative financial inclusion policies across the continent.

This event is partially financed through AFI’s Multi-Donor Financial Inclusion Policy Implementation Facility, with participation of the French Development Agency (AFD), German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Ministry of Finance of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.