Alliance for Financial Inclusion

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Name	Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Founded	2008
Location	Bangkok, Thailand
Key people	Alfred Hannig (Executive Director)
Focus	Financial inclusion, Financial policy, Central bank
Website	www.afi.org

Alliance for Financial Inclusion. The Alliance for Financial Inclusion is a global policy leadership alliance owned and led by member central banks and financial regulatory institutions from developing and emerging countries. Established in 2008 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and initially hosted by the Bank of Thailand, it serves as a knowledge platform for peer learning and advocacy on evidence-based financial inclusion policy. Its core mission is to accelerate the adoption of proven and innovative financial inclusion strategies to improve the lives of the world's poor through the formulation, implementation, and global advocacy of such policies.

History and establishment

The concept for the Alliance for Financial Inclusion emerged from a series of high-level discussions in the mid-2000s, recognizing a gap in systematic knowledge-sharing among financial regulators in the Global South. With catalytic funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it was formally launched in 2008 at a global policy forum in Accra, Ghana. The Bank of Thailand provided the initial secretariat, anchoring its operations in Bangkok. A pivotal moment in its institutional development was the adoption of the Maya Declaration in 2011 during the Global Policy Forum held in Riviera Maya, Mexico, which established the first global and measurable set of financial inclusion commitments by its member institutions.

Mission and objectives

The primary mission is to empower policymakers to increase access to quality financial services for the underserved. This is achieved through fostering peer-to-peer learning, developing practical tools and guidelines, and promoting leadership on inclusive finance within the global standard-setting body network. Key objectives include advancing the implementation of the Maya Declaration, supporting the development of National Financial Inclusion Strategies, and integrating financial inclusion with broader policy goals like SDGs, climate finance, and digital financial services. The work emphasizes evidence-based approaches to policy formulation, often in collaboration with institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Membership and governance

Membership is exclusive to public financial sector policymaking institutions, primarily central banks and financial regulatory authorities. The network has grown from a small group of founding members to include over 100 member institutions from more than 80 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. Governance is overseen by a Board of Directors elected from the membership, which sets strategic direction. Day-to-day operations are managed by an executive director and a secretariat based in Bangkok, with regional offices in Abidjan, Kigali, and Suva to support members in West Africa, East Africa, and the Pacific Islands respectively.

Key initiatives and programs

Core initiatives are organized around thematic working groups and peer learning platforms. The Financial Inclusion Data working group focuses on measurement, while the Digital Financial Services working group addresses policies for mobile money and fintech. The Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct and Financial Inclusion Strategy groups develop frameworks for protection and national planning. Major programs include the AFI Gender Inclusive Finance workstream, which promotes women's financial inclusion, and the Green Finance workstream, linking inclusion to climate change adaptation. The alliance also manages grant facilities, like those funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, to support policy implementation.

Impact and global reach

The alliance has significantly influenced the global financial inclusion landscape by elevating it as a core mandate for central banks. Its members have enacted hundreds of policy changes, from enabling agent banking regulations to developing comprehensive national strategies. The principles enshrined in the Maya Declaration have been echoed in forums like the G20 and informed the development of the G20 High-Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion. Its regional networks ensure tailored support, impacting policy from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the Philippines to the Bank of Ghana and the Central Bank of Jordan.

Partnerships and collaborations

It maintains strategic partnerships with major international organizations to amplify its impact and ensure policy coherence. Key partners include the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. It collaborates closely with global standard-setters like the Financial Action Task Force and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to advocate for proportional regulation. Funding and programmatic support have also been provided by development agencies such as the German Corporation for International Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Category:Financial regulation Category:International organizations Category:Organizations based in Bangkok