Launch of the AFI Europe Representative Office co-hosted with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Date: 5 October 2020
Time: 10:00 – 11:40 CET (08:00 – 10:00 UTC)
Venue: Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg City

Speakers:
Mr. Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg
Mr. Franz Fayot, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg
Dr. Alfred Hannig, Executive Director, AFI

The Alliance of Financial Inclusion (AFI) is organizing a virtual launch of its European Representative Office (ERO), co-hosted in the City of Luxembourg by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The ERO office launch will be conducted virtually and will include a news conference and a discussion with the honorable Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, Mr. Pierre Gramegna, the honorable Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg Mr. Franz Fayot, and AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig.

First part of the event includes the office launch ceremony, remarks by Minister Gremegna, Minister Fayot and AFI Executive Director Dr. Hannig and a virtual press conference. This will be followed by the high – level roundtable on converging topics in financial policy and regulation, focusing on emerging opportunities and risks of digital financial services to ensure truly inclusive and sustainable economic recovery as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial inclusion needs of the most vulnerable populations, women and girls, forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), youth and those impacted by climate change will be emphasized.

Speakers include: 

Mr. Franz Fayot, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs
Dr. Retselisitsoe Matlanyane, Governor, Central Bank of Lesotho
Mr. Claude Marx, Director General, Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)
Dr. Margarita Hernández, Superintendenta, Superintendencia de la Economía Popular y Solidaria de Ecuador (SEPS)
Dr. Alfred Hannig, Executive Director, AFI   

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Dirk Andreas Zetzsche, University of Luxembourg

Luxembourg has enabled an impressive array of advancements in financial technologies (FinTech), digital financial services (DFS), and has put in place innovative policies and regulations that have fostered a diverse and innovative financial ecosystem. At the same time, some of the developing countries in the AFI network have leapfrogged over brick and mortar financial infrastructure and have also created truly innovative systems and approaches that have brought reliable, accessible, and safe digital financial services to its citizens.

On all sides there is an interest to learn from one another’s experiences and a recognition of the great mutual value that stems from systemic peer learning among policymakers, regulators and the financial stakeholder community. The roundtable is an opportunity to exchange knowledge and enhance cooperation between the Luxembourg ecosystem, the broader European community, and AFI’s global network of financial policymakers and regulators.

The event will last 90 minutes and will be featured live on several platforms, including AFI’s social media channels Facebook and YouTube.

You are cordially invited to attend and cover the event.

Please register on this link to receive additional event information and instructions on how to follow the event and ask questions to each of the speakers during the  press conference.

ABOUT LUXEMBOURG MINISTRY OF FINANCE and AFI

Ministry of Finance of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg signed a letter of understanding (LOU) with AFI on 6 September 2019 and launched a new multi-donor collaboration framework that will help bolster financial inclusion across the African continent.

Through AFI’s  Multi-Donor Financial Inclusion Policy Implementation Facility (“MD-PIF”), AFI and Luxembourg are helping develop and implement policies in Africa at national and regional level that foster financial inclusion with a focus on gender equality, including digital financial innovation and FinTech, Financial Education and SME Finance. Apart from the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, AFI’s MD-PIF also includes French Development Agency (AFD) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Grand Duchy has been actively engaged in the microfinance industry since the early 1990s. Today, Luxembourg is a global leader in inclusive finance and hosts more than half of the market share of global assets under management in Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs).

ABOUT AFI

AFI is the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation. Roughly 100 member institutions make up the AFI network including central banks, ministries of finance and other financial regulators from 90 developing and emerging countries. AFI works on empowering policymakers to increase access and usage of quality financial services for the underserved through formulation, implementation and global advocacy of sustainable and inclusive policies.

AFI Europe Representative Office in Luxembourg, co-hosted with generous support from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, aims to implement high level events organized in cooperation with existing and potential funders, partners and members, as well as boost regional communications activities with AFI membership in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (ECCA), Africa, Middle East, even Latin America and the Caribbean.