Ghana is set to benefit from a $320, 535 grant awarded to the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) to mainstream gender in ECOWAS’ core Digital Financial Services (DFS) regulatory frameworks. ADFI ADFI ADFI
The funds awarded by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank will support a gender gap analysis of several WAMA strategies including those for financial inclusion; gender disaggregation data analytics; digital payment services and infrastructure; and digital identity. Gender
The project, to be executed over a three-year period, will potentially affect 350 million people in all 15 ECOWAS nations: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. grant grant
The grant will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI), a blended finance vehicle, supported by the African Development Bank.
“With a secretariat comprising all the 15 ECOWAS central banks, West African Monetary Agency plays a pivotal role in the consolidation and implementation of strategic financial inclusion objectives. The Africa Digital Financial Inclusion and the West African Monetary Agency project team will work closely with other ecosystem players in the region to ensure harmonization of efforts for maximum impact “.
Sheila Okiro, the ADFI Coordinator
The project, according to the African Development Bank, has the potential to raise by 35% women’s participation in digital financial market operations in the region, which has a higher gender disparity than other parts of the continent as reflected in its Gender Development Index of 0.825 versus the African average of 0.871.
Africa has a gender-inclusion gap of 11% as compared to the global average of 9% according to the 2017 Findex Report. The African Development Bank Group noted that to address this challenge, it is imperative that gender is mainstreamed across all functions but more so at the level of policy and regulation.
The project is aligned to ADFI’s strategic goals including its cross-cutting focus on gender inclusion, as well as the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, Gender Strategy (2021-2025), and to Integrate the Africa High-5 strategic focus.
The Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) is a Pan-African instrument designed to accelerate financial inclusion by investing in the expansion of digital financial services across Africa. By 2030, ADFI will deploy $400 million in grants and loans to ensure 332 million more Africans – of which 60% are women, have access to the formal financial system. gender gender
ADFI’s current partners are the French Development Agency (AFD); the French Treasury, Ministry of Economy and Finance; the Government of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Finance; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the African Development Bank, which also hosts the fund.
A key aspect of ADFI’s mandate is providing a strong base from which sustainable products and services can be provided. The need for secure digital financial services is paramount to achieving financial inclusion and touches on the non-negotiable requirement of consumer protection.
The African Development Bank stated that for digital financial inclusion to play the catalytic role expected to drive financial inclusion, and eventually economic inclusion sustainably and responsibly, then it is critical that the lack of skills in combatting cyber insecurity and the prohibitive cost is addressed urgently. ADFI ADFI ADFI
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