The Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative (FIARI) is a multi-partnership regional platform created amid growing demand from member institutions from the Arab Region for tailored solutions to regional financial inclusion issues. It was launched by AFI, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the German International Cooperation (GIZ), at the AFI 2017 flagship event, the AFI Global Policy Forum (GPF). The World Bank later joined as a technical partner.
“FIARI will enable [AFI] to engage in the region, to learn from each other on important issues such as financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons, women’s financial inclusion but also SME finance. These are important issues and regulators can make a difference” – AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig.
“As we show the will to join forces under FIARI and foster knowledge, we reinforce our commitment to financial inclusion and thus to addressing some of the region’s most urgent challenges such as youth unemployment and women’s economic exclusion” – GIZ Head of Europe, Mediterranean and Central Asia Ute Klamert.
“FIARI is a key driver in promoting financial inclusion, translating the willingness of the Arab Monetary Fund to strengthen technical assistance and capacity development in support of member countries and their efforts in making financial services available to all Arab societies.” H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board, the Arab Monetary Fund.
The platform aims to support the AFI member institutions in the Arab region and all the Arab countries members of the Arab Monetary Fund to accelerate policies and actions that enhance access to financial services in the Arab region through effective coordination mechanisms and supporting the implementation of national financial inclusion policies. FIARI uses financial inclusion as a driving force for sustainable economic and social development, aligned with the range of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). It acts as a coordination platform that enables financial inclusion advocacy, capacity building, peer-learning, knowledge development and in-country technical implementation support among central banks and financial authorities in the region.
FIARI complements the activities of the Arab Region Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (ARFIPI), a space for AFI members to discuss common financial inclusion challenges, share knowledge, and learn from members’ experiences, through In-Country-Implementation programs, and regional peer exchanges and events.
Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Arab Monetary Fund
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
World Bank Group
FIARI is part of the AFI network and any AFI member institution in the Arab Region can participate in FIARI activities.
The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan
The United Arab Emirates
The Kingdom Of Bahrain
The Republic Of Tunisia
The People’s Democratic Republic Of Algeria
The Republic Of Djibouti
The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia
The Republic Of Sudan
The Syrian Arab Republic
The Somali Democratic Republic
The Republic Of Iraq
The Sultanate Of Oman
The State Of Palestine
The State Of Qatar
The Union Of The Comoros
The State Of Kuwait
The Republic Of Lebanon
The State Of Libya
The Arab Republic Of Egypt
The Kingdom Of Morocco
The Islamic Republic Of Mauritania
The Republic Of Yemen
The Arab region has played a central role in advancing AFI’s vision of making financial services more accessible to the world’s unbanked. Some of the key milestones by FIARI members include:
September 2020 :
November 2020 :
April 2021 :
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