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New Financial Inclusion Commitments
Many exciting new initiatives are emerging to promote financial inclusion. Representatives of each used the FI2020 Global Forum as a chance to compare thinking with other initiatives.
World Bank: World Bank President Jim Kim recently called for a target of financial access for all by 2020. Mr. Kim said, “Access to savings accounts, credit or remittances can help families afford essential services like water, electricity, housing, education and health care.” The Bank’s new 2014 Global Financial Development Report, which focuses on financial inclusion, provides evidence on what works in creating and implementing policies to increase financial inclusion. The World Bank Group is working toward the target of one transaction account for every adult by supporting financial inclusion projects in 70 countries through the new Financial Inclusion Support Framework; IFC’s network of 900 financial institutions and funds; the Global SME Finance Facility; the Global Financial Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy program; and open datasets including the Global Findex.
The World Economic Forum, with strategic support from McKinsey & Company, recently launched its Financial Inclusive Initiative, a multi-stakeholder platform to convene key players and facilitate public-private partnerships to promote financial inclusion. Guided by a steering committee representing leading organizations from across the financial inclusion ecosystem, the initiative will identify key issues, best practices, and new opportunities to advance financial inclusion globally. Several working groups have formed – on bridging the gap from access to usage, the cost of financial service delivery, and enabling break-through innovation. Regional workshops in December will further initial findings and discuss how they apply in specific country contexts. Findings and insights generated as part of this initiative will be integrated into the private and public programs of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting and Regional Summits in 2014.
MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth: On November 4, 2013, MasterCard announced the launch of its new Center for Inclusive Growth. The Center will conduct its own research and support that of others and will invest in initiatives that advance sustainable and inclusive growth and financial inclusion. The Center will be supported by an academic advisory council, including Fan Gang, Robert Lawrence, Guntram Wolff, Martyn Davies, Ricardo Hausmann and Suman Bery. Walt Macnee, vice chairman of MasterCard Worldwide, underlined the importance of financial inclusion, noting that it “provides the opportunity [for people] to join the financial mainstream, participate in the global economy, and build more self-determined lives.”
At the end of the FI2020 Global Forum participants wrote personal commitments to advancing financial inclusion on self-addressed postcards. We waited a couple of weeks, then mailed them back as a reminder. Highlights included:
"Always keep clients and consumers at the center of my work--their voice needs to be loud! "
"I commit to ensure the customer and her financial capability is at the center of our solutions, services, and programs."
"Go out and learn."
"Advocate for development of a "financial inclusion strategy" in collaboration between and amongst diverse private sector players and different regulators [in my country]"
"Reach 20 million people by 2020 to empower them to change their lives as they see fit -- through financial solutions and training."
"Bringing the impact of exclusion of older women and men from financial services on the global development agenda."
"Explore the integration of financial services into agricultural value chains - what synergies to reduce cost to serve and incentivize sustainable productivity improvement."
What's your committment to financial inclusion? We want to hear from you. Add your comment on one of the roadmaps on our website or send a tweet using #FI2020.