AFI and MasterCard launch regional capacity building workshop for Africa’s financial inclusion policymakers and regulators

Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, 20 July 2015 – The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and MasterCard, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, today implemented a first of its kind technical capacity building workshop for AFI members in Sub-Saharan Africa, held in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire from 20 to 21 July 2015. More than fifty financial inclusion regulators and policymakers from across the African continent are participating.

Subjects to be covered include oversight and supervision of digital financial services (DFS), including retail payment systems, e-money, electronic banking, agent banking and other DFS regulatory policy options. Risk mitigation strategies and cross-border payments and remittances services options will also be discussed.

This workshop is being conducted within the framework of the AFI Public-Private Dialogue Platform (PPD). The PPD is a unique global platform that enables AFI members and private sector service providers to benefit from systematic dialogue and knowledge sharing on key issues, trends and opportunities in financial inclusion policy.

The AFI PPD also utilizes the private sector’s unique technical and operational knowledge to enhance the technical capacity of AFI member institutions through targeted workshops and trainings. Each AFI PPD partner contributes knowledge, resources and expertise to support AFI programs and activities.  MasterCard aligned with the AFI PPD as a strategic private sector partner in April 2015.

“Advancing financial inclusion through digital financial services is a top policy priority for our members in Africa which has been articulated in their Maya Commitments,” said Alfred Hannig, Executive Director at AFI. “We are glad to cooperate with MasterCard and other AFI PPD partners to strengthen our members’ institutional capacity in areas where the private sector has unique and substantial technical expertise.”

“To have a true impact on financial inclusion in Africa, there needs to be inclusive partnership with the public sector, development agencies and the private sector working together to create a reliable and efficient payment system that encourages consumers and businesses to adopt and use safe, smart and simple digital financial solutions rather than risky cash,” said Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub Saharan Africa, MasterCard.

Financial inclusion remains a key priority for MasterCard on a global scale; the company recently made a public commitment to connect 500-million people to financial services by 2020.

“By sharing our knowledge and technical expertise with regulators in AFI’s network, we hope to address the regulatory challenges around financial inclusion and provide insights into some of the new business models and innovations that can help us jointly achieve this goal,” Monehin said.