Latest news with #NationalFinancialInclusionStrategy
Iraq Business
27-05-2025
- Business
- Iraq Business
Central Bank of Iraq launches Financial Inclusion Strategy
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has launched its first National Financial Inclusion Strategy, covering the period 2025-2029. The initiative provides an integrated framework aimed at enabling all individuals and businesses to access the financial sector and use appropriate, secure financial services with consumer protection guarantees. The strategy is expected to contribute to both economic and social development. Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Allaq emphasised the Bank's commitment to advancing financial inclusion domestically and through collaboration with regional and international partners. The strategy was developed in partnership with the World Bank Group, Arab Monetary Fund, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), and Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), along with numerous local public and private stakeholders. Key goals include: Increasing the percentage of Iraqis with bank accounts Strengthening consumer protection within the financial sector Expanding the use of modern digital payment methods Upgrading infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to support inclusion (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Hi Dubai
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
UAE Central Bank Launches Forum to Drive National Financial Inclusion and Literacy
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has launched the country's first National Financial Inclusion and Literacy Policy Forum in Abu Dhabi, marking a key milestone toward building a more inclusive and informed financial ecosystem. The event, attended by senior government officials, regulators, and global financial leaders, set the stage for the rollout of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the National Financial Literacy Strategy. These twin initiatives aim to improve access to financial services across all segments of society and empower individuals and businesses through education and innovation. Held in alignment with the UAE's sustainable development goals, the forum reinforced the CBUAE's commitment to strengthening financial inclusion, particularly for underserved groups such as small businesses and the underbanked. Digitalisation and technological solutions will be central to this effort, enabling equal access to financial services nationwide. A key highlight of the forum was the signing of a partnership agreement between the CBUAE and the World Bank to collaborate on the development of both national strategies. The agreement will ensure alignment with international best practices and enable the exchange of technical expertise. Fatma Al Jabri, Assistant Governor at the CBUAE, underscored the importance of financial access and awareness in fostering economic stability and social welfare. Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, the World Bank's Country Director for the GCC, echoed this, noting the role of financial inclusion in driving economic growth, job creation, and entrepreneurship. By engaging both public and private sectors in its development, the UAE's new strategies are poised to create a more resilient and inclusive financial future, cementing the nation's position as a global financial hub. News Source: Emirates News Agency
Gulf Today
21-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
CBUAE's forum reviews financial inclusion and literacy policies
In a move to solidify the UAE's position as a global financial hub, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has organised the 1st National Financial Inclusion and Literacy Policy Forum in Abu Dhabi. This event is marked as the first step to launch the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the National Financial Literacy Strategy. The Forum was attended by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE; Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance; Hamid Al Zaabi, Secretary-General and Vice-Chair of the UAE National Committee for Combatting Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations; Mohamed Bin Taliah, Chief of Government Services of the UAE; Fatma Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Financial Crime, Market Conduct and Consumer Protection at the CBUAE; Saif Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE. Senior officials and representatives of various federal and local entities, the financial sector and international financial institutions have also attended the forum. The forum was organised in line with the CBUAE's efforts to achieve the UAE's sustainable development goals, the CBUAE's objectives to enhance financial inclusion and awareness, and broadening access to financial services for all society sectors to foster sustainable economic growth. The financial inclusion and literacy strategies aim at empowering consumers, small and medium enterprises, and underbanked people through targeted initiatives and tailored educational programmes. These strategies will also focus on building an innovative financial ecosystem based on digitalisation and technological solutions to ensure equality and easy access to financial services by all community sectors. The development of these strategies will be rooted in thorough specialised studies and in-depth research, with the participation of federal and local government entities, private sector and community members, ensuring coordinated and integrated efforts throughout the development and implementation phases. With the goal of aligning both strategies with international best practices, the CBUAE and the World Bank have signed a partnership agreement aimed at enhancing joint cooperation in the formulation of both national strategies and the exchange of technical expertise. Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, and Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, witnessed the signing ceremony. The agreement was signed by Fatma Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Financial Crime, Market Conduct and Consumer Protection at the CBUAE, and Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank's Country Director for the GCC Countries, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations. Fatma Al Jabri said, 'The formulation of two strategies for financial inclusion and financial literacy marks a crucial advancement towards fulfilling the leadership's vision to bolster financial and economic stability and elevating social welfare in the UAE. This entails the widening of reach to financial services to encompass all societal groups and enhancing the financial infrastructure. She added, 'At CBUAE, we are committed to developing effective partnerships with global financial institutions, notably the World Bank. We are dedicated to promoting initiatives that improve financial literacy and engagement by all society segments within the financial ecosystem. These endeavours are instrumental to build a prosperous society, thereby cementing the nation's prominent standing as a global financial hub.' Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali said, 'The financial inclusion fosters economic growth and employment, promotes economic empowerment of women and supports entrepreneurship and business growth.' She added, 'Through innovation and partnerships, the World Bank has supported over 100 developing countries in advancing financial inclusion. Today, we are excited to collaborate with the Central Bank of the UAE to develop strategies that enable every individual in the UAE to fully engage in the financial system and make informed financial decisions.' A week earlier, banking operations statistics released by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) showed that the value of transfers executed within the country's banking sector through the UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) rose by 15.5 per cent during the first two months of this year (January and February), reaching Dhs3.4 trillion compared to Dhs2.962 trillion during the same period last year. Of this, the value of transfers executed by banks during the first two months of this year amounted to Dhs2.093 trillion, distributed as follows: Dhs1.1 trillion in January and Dhs983.99 billion in February. Meanwhile, the value of transfers executed by customers and institutions during the same period reached Dhs1.327 trillion, broken down as: Dhs677.65 billion in January and Dhs649.48 billion in February. The forum was organised in line with the CBUAE's efforts to achieve the UAE's sustainable development goals
Al Etihad
21-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
UAE Central Bank organises first national forum on financial inclusion and literacy policy
21 May 2025 17:14 ABU DHABI (WAM)In a move to solidify the UAE's position as a global financial hub, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has organised the first National Financial Inclusion and Literacy Policy Forum in Abu event is marked as the first step to launch the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the National Financial Literacy Strategy. The forum was attended by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE; Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance; Hamid Al Zaabi, Secretary-General and Vice-Chair of the UAE National Committee for Combatting Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations; Mohamed Bin Taliah, Chief of Government Services of the UAE; Fatma Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Financial Crime, Market Conduct and Consumer Protection at the CBUAE; Saif Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE. Senior officials and representatives of various federal and local entities, the financial sector, and international financial institutions, were also in forum was organised in line with the CBUAE's efforts to achieve the UAE's sustainable development goals, the CBUAE's objectives to enhance financial inclusion and awareness, and with the aim to broaden access to financial services for all sectors toward fostering sustainable economic financial inclusion and literacy strategies aim at empowering consumers, small and medium enterprises, and underbanked people through targeted initiatives and tailored educational programmes. These strategies will also focus on building an innovative financial ecosystem, based on digitalisation and technological solutions, to ensure equality and easy access to financial services by all community development of these strategies will be rooted in thorough specialised studies and in-depth research, with the participation of federal and local government entities, private sector and community members, ensuring coordinated and integrated efforts throughout the development and implementation the goal of aligning both strategies with international best practices, the CBUAE and the World Bank have signed a partnership agreement aimed at enhancing joint cooperation in the formulation of both national strategies and the exchange of technical Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, and Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, witnessed the signing agreement was signed by Fatma Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Financial Crime, Market Conduct and Consumer Protection at the CBUAE, and Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank's Country Director for the GCC Countries, in the presence of senior officials from both Al Jabri said, "The formulation of two strategies for financial inclusion and financial literacy marks a crucial advancement towards fulfilling the leadership's vision to bolster financial and economic stability, and elevating social welfare in the UAE. This entails the widening of reach to financial services to encompass all societal groups and enhancing the financial infrastructure."She added, "At CBUAE, we are committed to developing effective partnerships with global financial institutions, notably the World Bank. We are dedicated to promoting initiatives that improve financial literacy and engagement by all society segments within the financial ecosystem. These endeavours are instrumental to build a prosperous society, thereby cementing the nation's prominent standing as a global financial hub."Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali said, "The financial inclusion fosters economic growth and employment, promotes economic empowerment of women, and supports entrepreneurship and business growth." She added, "Through innovation and partnerships, the World Bank has supported over 100 developing countries in advancing financial inclusion. Today, we are excited to collaborate with the Central Bank of the UAE to develop strategies that enable every individual in the UAE to fully engage in the financial system, and make informed financial decisions."
African Manager
02-04-2025
- Business
- African Manager
Tunisia drives digitization agenda forward
Tunisia's digital transformation has reached a crucial stage with the execution of E-Houwiya, a state-recognized digital identity system. E-Houwiya, a key pillar of the country's 2025 digital strategy, aims to improve financial inclusion by providing secure access to banking and FinTech services while facilitating authentication for digital government platforms. However, Tunisia's broader push for digitization, including biometric ID efforts and digital service platforms, has raised significant concerns about privacy and data security, according to the site Biometric. Tunisia is evolving its digital ID and AI plans to modernize public services and foster its digital economy, according to the Communications Technology Minister. Recently, We Are Tech Africa reported that Tunisia's plan focuses on digitizing government services, improving digital infrastructure, and boosting AI usage in crucial sectors such as health and education. The AI strategy, which is scheduled for 2025, will support open data and technology industries. Tunisia is ranked 8th in Africa for ICT development as per the ITU and leads North Africa in e-government by the UN. These projects are intended to maintain Tunisia's mechanism in digital transformation. Digital strategy and key global partnerships A recent report by Stats and Market Insights highlights that Tunisia's startup landscape strengthened global partnerships in 2024, particularly in digital transformation, payments, and digital identity. Collaborations with the EU, the AfDB, and accelerators such as Flat6Labs and Seedstars assisted FinTech, agritech, and healthtech innovation. The Central Bank and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy sponsored FinTech, which raised US$150 million to address financial inclusion through digital wallets and payment systems. Over 40 firms have expanded throughout Europe, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa, recognizing international programs like the Startup Tunisia Global Program. Tunisia's digital transformation is promoted by programs such as Smart Tunisia 2025, as well as partnerships that advance smart cities, identity solutions, and digital services. In another move, Tunisia and China discussed strengthening their digital transformation cooperation, with a focus on telecom infrastructure and AI. The collaboration aims to accelerate Tunisia's digital development, expand its ICT sector, and close cybersecurity gaps, all while supporting Tunisia's broader socioeconomic and e-government goals. Guaranteed correct onboarding Furthermore, Uqudo has collaborated with Tunisia to provide secure digital identity verification for passports and national IDs, hence improving KYC and AML compliance. Uqudo uses AI, biometrics, and cognitive document analysis to extract and verify identity data against the MRZ field, such as name, date of birth, and passport number. This provides correct onboarding and regulatory compliance for Tunisian and international businesses. The partnership improves identity verification security and efficiency while supporting global AML and CDD standards. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH founded the Digital Transformation Centre Tunisia on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It collaborated closely with the Tunisian government, particularly the Ministries of Communications Technologies and Industry, Mines, and Energy, to implement the national digital strategy and promote Tunisia's digital transformation sector-wise. The center also collaborates with multinational companies, such as Siemens and the AI company InstaDeep, to help Tunisia's digital economy succeed.
