AFI and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) will co-host the 3rd Annual African Mobile Phone Financial Services Policy Initiative (AMPI) Leaders’ Roundtable on 23-24 July 2015 under the overarching theme “The Next Level of Mobile Financial Services: Convergence and Reaching Out Further” at the Hotel President in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

Participants attending this high-level proceeding will have the opportunity to specifically:

• Examine latest trends of mobile money services;
• Exchange views on emerging mobile financial services (MFS) models and the regulatory frameworks;
• Discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by policymakers and financial regulators in Africa in expanding MFS, while mitigating the risks entailed in mobile-enabled cross-border payments;
• Discuss the challenges faced by both operators and regulators in establishing interoperable systems as an element for comprehensive MFS ecosystems;
• Exchange views, based on concrete examples, on the necessary framework to be established in order to achieve a high degree of interoperability in African markets;
• Discuss the opportunities embedded in digital technologies in support of a more efficient microfinance sector in Africa and share lessons learned in successful MFS roll outs in the microfinance sector.

Additionally, the AMPI Leaders’ Roundtable will pick up on themes covered during the “Bridging the Gap: Financial Inclusion Policy Solutions for Women in Africa” conference organized by AFI in Yamoussoukro to continue to add to the foundation for the structured integration of the gender aspects in financial inclusion policies and extend high-level dialogue between policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to identify barriers to the development of digital financial services in Africa.

Furthermore, in the context of the implementation of the AMPI strategic plan and in partnership with MasterCard, AFI is has arranged a regulatory capacity building workshop for staff in AFI African member institutions directly in charge of the supervision and oversight of payment systems and/or e-money.

The workshop is expected to help attendees acquire a better understanding of the developments surrounding interoperability and interconnectivity, managing underlying technology risks and the implications of various business models on financial inclusion; provide an overview of ways to ensure integrity of digital payment systems through compliance, and; explore various new business models and innovations driving merchant acceptance in markets.