OREANDA-NEWS. The Central Bank of Central African States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will co-host a conference on March 23, 2015 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, to examine the prospects and policy options for promoting financial inclusion in Central Africa.

The Conference Finance for All: Promoting Financial Inclusion in Central Africa will aim to discuss the impact of financial inclusion on growth and poverty reduction. Access to financial services can play a critical role in reducing inequality and supporting inclusive growth. However, only about half of the world’s population has access to financial services, and that access is unequally spread across regions, countries, income levels and gender. In most of Central Africa, access is comparatively low.

The event will bring together more than 200 participants from government, academia, civil society and banking. It will focus on the policy challenges facing the countries of the Economic Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS) as they seek to increasing access to financial services for all while managing policy challenges and supervisory risks.

It will feature speakers from East Africa, where efforts to spur financial inclusion have shown considerable success. Kevin Kavugizo, Director Microfinance Supervision from the National Bank of Rwanda will present Rwanda’s efforts in promoting financial inclusion. Other speakers such as Felix Kamenga, Director Mpesa (Vodafone), Democratic Republic of Congo, will speak about non-traditional forms of banking such as mobile banking.

“We are very much looking forward to listening to all our partners in the ECCAS as we discuss the challenges and opportunities of regional financial inclusion,” said Antoinette Sayeh Director of the IMF’s African Department. “The IMF has had a constructive dialogue with the Bank of Central African States on the topic, and the Brazzaville conference allows us to broaden this dialogue with government officials and other stakeholders. This is a concrete way to improve the quality of life of citizens in ECCAS.”

The discussions will focus on identifying barriers to financial services for households and small and medium size enterprises; the challenge of retail banking; the role of microfinance institutions and mobile banking; and the management of supervisory risks stemming from non-traditional financial actors.