Digital financial services in the spotlight as AfPI’s Expert Group on Financial Inclusion Policy meets in Abidjan

The Experts Group on Financial Inclusion Policy (EGFIP) for AFI’s African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI) met in Abidjan today, at an event co-hosted with the Ministry of Finance and Budget of Côte d’Ivoire.

Discussions centered on digital financial services (DFS). EGFIP members shared updates on recent developments on consumer protection for DFS, discussed policies and strategies for enhancing cybersecurity, and explored the regulatory pre-requisites for building and implementing effective digital public infrastructure.  

“The AfPI Experts Group plays a vital role in advancing financial inclusion in Africa, by ensuring that AfPI’s workstream components and deliverables reflect critical topical issues and challenges,” said Dr. Eliki Boletawa, AFI’s Director of Policy Programs & Implementation. 

“The challenge ahead is to ensure that digital public infrastructure is integrated into various sectors of the economy to deepen financial inclusion, said Lucy Charles-Shaidi, EGFIP Vice-Chair and Director, National Payment Systems at Bank of Tanzania. “Fostering public-private partnerships will be key in this respect.”

The EGFIP meeting kicked off four days of discussions among AFI’s African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative, which will culminate in a Leaders’ Roundtable on June 27th.