The Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) and the Milne Bay Provincial Administration (MBPA) have unanimously agreed to work together in partnership to drive the agenda of financial inclusion in the province.
Both CEFI and MBPA came to agreement following respective meetings of the Milne Bay Steering Committee on Financial Inclusion on January 28 and 29 in Alotau.
The purpose of the meeting was to induct members of the Milne Bay Financial Inclusion Steering Committee.
From the meeting, key activities were identified to begin the process of financial inclusion which included, baseline survey on financial inclusion in the province, training of trainers for financial literacy training, business development service training for SMEs, hosting of financial inclusion exposition and pilot project on expanding access of financial products and services.
Some key resolutions that came out of the meeting included, the finalisation of the appointment of the Milne Bay Provincial Financial Inclusion Steering Committee, finalisation of the terms of reference for the committee, finalisation of the 2021 annual work plan, date of the next meeting and setting up of a desk to coordinate financial inclusion in the province.
The formation of the steering committee is part of a list of activities outlined in the scope of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between MPBA and CEFI on 25th November 2019.
The three year MoA, which will expire on 23rd September 2022, under clause 2.13 states, called for the “establishment of a Project Steering Committee (PSC) that will include representatives from the provincial government, CEFI, private sector and civil agencies in the province”.
CEFI’s manager for special projects, Busa Jeremiah Wenogo, emphasised the need for the financial inclusion agenda to be embedded in the province and urged MBPA and the financial institutions to work together to drive financial inclusion in the province.
“There is a need now for us to work together to educate our population on financial literacy as well as how to save money and invest in productive activities to help their families improve their wellbeing,” Wenogo said.