AFI will convene many of Africa’s high-level financial inclusion policymakers and regulators, along with other public and private stakeholders, for the 4th Annual Leaders’ Roundtable of the African Mobile Phone Financial Services Policy Initiative (AMPI) on 4-5 February in Dakar, Senegal.

The meeting will be co-hosted by AFI member institution the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO).

Participants will explore a range of issues, including: collaborative approaches among financial regulators to enable digital cross-border remittances; the role of regulators for effective interoperability in digital financial services; the role of regulators in facilitating synergies between micro-finance institutions and digital financial services; and, emerging trends in digital financial services in Africa.

AMPI leaders will also discuss an institutional framework for AMPI and draw a road map toward establishing a physical presence for the initiative in Africa.

Furthermore, there will be a focus on the success of the AFI Maya Declaration as a driver of successful, evidence-based financial inclusion policy solutions relating to digital financial services in Africa, and how the Maya can best be utilized by AMPI moving forward.

Currently, AFI members from Africa have outlined 19 specific, measurable commitments to financial inclusion under the Maya Declaration, a number of which have an emphasis on DFS.

Network partners from the AFI Public-Private Dialogue Platform (PPD) will be well represented at the roundtable, and will be given the opportunity to assist regulators in identifying and addressing the regulatory barriers to scaling up new technologies and approaches in Africa.

“I anticipate this will be a very productive meeting where policymakers will have a chance to chart the course to continue to scale up digital financial services in Africa,” said Mr. Norbert Mumba, Deputy Executive Director at AFI. “AMPI is a great example of the ongoing paradigm shift toward peer learning and knowledge exchange that members of the AFI network have championed over the years.”

This will be the first leaders’ roundtable for AMPI since the United Nations adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda containing a strong case for the role of financial inclusion. The agenda committed the international community to work toward full and equal access to formal financial services for all, and urged relevant stakeholders to include financial inclusion as a policy objective in financial regulation, in accordance with national priorities and legislation.

AFI and MasterCard will also co-host the AMPI Regulatory Capacity Building Workshop ahead of this meeting on 2-3 February 2016 in Dakar. The workshop will give an overview of the latest innovations and progress in advancing financial inclusion via digital financial services; strengthen capacities in building adequate supervisory framework to mitigate emerging risks in digital financial services; and, provide insights on implementing interoperable schemes and regulatory frameworks that enhance efficient distribution channels for digital financial services.