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.
The Gates Foundation was critical to the birth of AFI, driven by the conviction that ‘policy matters’. In 2017, AFI was recognized by the Foundation as a key driving force to advance financial inclusion in developing and emerging countries. Over the last decade, the Foundation has supported AFI In-Country Implementation projects and AFI’s Competition Enablers Knowledge Exchange, which aims to foster innovation and capacity building in digital financial services, using the lens of competition.
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.