AFI Working Groups meet in Honduras to advance progress on Data and SME Finance

From April 22^nd to 25^th , AFI’s Financial Inclusion Data Working Group and SME Finance Working Group are meeting in Roatan, Honduras. The sessions, co-hosted with the National Commission of Banks and Insurance of Honduras (CNBS), are being attended by over 90 participants from 68 AFI member institutions.

“We are delighted to be hosting AFI Working Group meetings in Honduras for the first time,” said Marcio Sierra, President of CNBS. “It is the perfect opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to promoting financial inclusion, and to achieving comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable economic development.”

“Our working groups play a vital role in identifying policies and regulations which will have a real impact on people’s financial livelihoods,” said Dr Eliki Boletawa, AFI’s Director of Policy Programs and Implementation. “The two topics that bring us together, SME finance and data, are both critical to sustainable and inclusive development. Small businesses are the engine of economic growth, while without data, we can neither measure nor manage.”

Since 2013, AFI’s SME Finance Working Group has been actively sharing insight on how to promote small businesses’ access to finance across the AFI network. The Financial Inclusion Data Working Group promotes and shares insight on financial inclusion measurements among AFI members.