The World Economic Forum’s spring meeting in Cape Town, South Africa is an ideal backdrop for a fresh conversation about taking financial inclusion from aspiration to reality in Africa.
The Guardian Global Development Professionals Network will host a morning roundtable, in partnership with Visa, in Cape Town, South Africa, and you are invited to register your interest.
We’re curating a group of delegates from NGOs, government and the private sector who will explore concrete ideas for accelerating growth and expansion of financial services by coming up with workable solutions to the following questions:
- How will we define success across a continent with such varied needs and infrastructure? How will products and services be adapted for farming communities to urban slums to fragile states?
- What are the challenges of working in these contexts? How can we bring together key stakeholders with different agendas to focus on a common goal?
- If the future is mobile, why is everyone struggling to get scale in mobile money schemes? What do we need to learn from that?
- What work is still needed to increase access for marginalised groups like the disabled and the elderly?
- Could ID cards, or another government run scheme, be a feasible solution for achieving universal financial access in African countries? Where could it work? Why?
Date: 4 June
Time: 7-8.15am
Location: The Westin, Cape Town
To register your interest in attending, please fill in this form.
Space is limited and priority will be given to individuals with relevant experience or research interests in financial inclusion.
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