Together with the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) will be hosting the 12th Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG) and 8th Global Standards Proportionality (GSP) Working Group meetings from 24-27 April, 2018 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The four-day event is expected to gather more than 90 participants from FISPLG and GSP member countries combined, along with key external stakeholders and partners from around the globe. The event will also include a training on sex-disaggregated data on 27 April, 2018 where the AFI Special Report, Gender Diversity and Women’s Leadership in AFI Member Institutions, will be launched.

Working groups play a critical role in achieving the AFI’s vision of a policy leadership alliance. As such, the second day of this event will then see FISPLG and GSP members converge to discuss common priority issues, identify complementary activities and discuss possible collaborative knowledge product publications.

Both working groups will also gather in their respective working groups to discuss cross-cutting policy topics with implications across every financial inclusion policy area. The agenda for the 4-day event includes trends on FinTech for Financial Inclusion and Proportionate Regulation, Shadow Banking and Financial Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and AML/CFT, Integrating National Financial Inclusion Strategies and National Risk Assessments and Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons.

Working groups are the key source of policy developments and trends in financial inclusion and serve as “communities of practice” on key financial inclusion issues. The groups conduct surveys of their members to share knowledge; held peer reviews to facilitate practical feedback on members’ policies, regulations and strategies; published guideline notes identifying best practices in their areas of expertise; and, contributed to policy reforms across the network by supporting members in implementing their commitments to the Maya Declaration.

About GSP Working Group

The Global Standards Proportionality (GSP) Working Group provides a platform to facilitate peer learning on issues policymakers and regulators face in achieving a balance between financial inclusion, integrity and stability, as well as to examine the proportionate implementation of the global standards set by global Standard-Setting Bodies (SSBs).

About FISPLG Working Group

The Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG) was established as a support mechanism for countries developing and implementing financial inclusion strategies. Many countries are increasingly interested in developing national financial inclusion strategies as frameworks to guide policy and regulatory reforms and to encourage the alignment of public and private sector stakeholders under a unified vision and shared goals.