At the 2026 AFI Global Policy Forum, AFI and the Gates Foundation launched the next phase of their partnership to support regulators and policymakers to build strong financial ecosystems that foster digital financial inclusion, promote competition, protect consumers, and safeguard financial integrity and stability.

The next phase of the collaboration will include scaling up AFI’s Competition Enablers Knowledge Exchange, which aims to foster innovation and capacity building in digital financial services, and advancing progress in priority areas such as AI, RegTech/SupTech, cybersecurity and fraud mitigation.

“This new phase of our partnership moves from knowledge generation and sharing to implementation, working deeper in high-priority areas,” said Ariadne Plaitakis, Deputy Director of Regulation, Research and Policy at the Gates Foundation. “These include issues around competition, consumer protection, financial integrity, fraud and data.”

“Our longstanding partnership with the Gates Foundation is advancing robust and responsible digital financial ecosystems across the AFI network, and addressing emerging opportunities and risks” said Ilya Sverdlov, AFI Director of ERO and Donor Relations & Global Partnerships. “The next stage of our cooperation will leverage AFI’s well-tested platforms and innovative partnerships to connect evidence, policy thought leadership, and peer exchange, to policy implementation and reform.”

The Gates Foundation works to expand access to digital financial services so people in the lowest-income communities around the globe can build security and prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities.​ In September 2025, the Gates Foundation received an AFI Honorary Recognition award for its outstanding contribution to the AFI network and to advancing financial inclusion globally.