Ghana has recently made significant strides in the regulation of digital financial services (DFS), as well as in innovations in digital products that allow financial service providers to reach rural and previously unbanked clients in a more efficient manner. These regulations and innovations work together to achieve impressive leaps forward in providing formal financial services to all Ghanaian citizens. This recent progress, together with the fact that Ghana hosts two MicroLead partners, made it a perfect location for the annual 2016 MicroLead learning event.

To open a weeklong event of peer learning and exchange, MicroLead, in partnership with UNDP, convened a panel of DFS stakeholders to discuss a number of questions related to DFS provision in Ghana.  

What are the new DFS regulations and how were they developed? How do the new regulations allow DFS to expand the reach of mobile network operators (MNOs) and providers in Ghana? How does this increase financial inclusion? How can MNOs and DFS providers work together to leverage the new opportunities afforded by this new regulation? And, how can they form partnerships to meet the needs of more low-income and rural clients? 

During the week, over 40 organizations will meet to discuss the learnings financial service providers and technical service providers have gathered over the past 4 years as MicroLead partners. These financial service providers are all engaged in developing innovative pathways to deliver savings products to rural areas and to women in their respective countries. 

Follow MicroLead on Twitter for more live information on the event. @UNCDFMicroLead

About MicroLead

MicroLead is a global programme funded by UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), The MasterCard Foundation, LIFT Myanmar, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The programme provides support for the development & roll-out of deposit services to rural population via alternative channels by regulated Financial Institutions.

About UNCDF

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs). With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. This last mile is where available resources for development are scarcest; where market failures are most pronounced; and where benefits from national growth tend to leave people excluded.