From 7 to 11 December, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) held a series of over 30 satellite events in partnership with Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF).

The global satellite events organized by UNCDF featured policymakers, senior government officials, industry leaders, and academics to explore various avenues for driving the SDGs using digital tools. Panelists and participants tuned in from across the globe to discuss the latest developments in digital finance, climate change, financial inclusion and financial health.

At the heart of the partnership between UNCDF and SFF for this 2020 edition is the common goal of building a community of practice that contributes to inclusive digital economies and builds financially resilient societies.

Two key sessions to highlight are the opening session: Building Inclusive and Resilient Economies in the Digital Era and the closing session: Financial Health and its Relevance for the Developing World.

In the opening session, UNCDF Executive Secretary, Judith Karl provided insights into the agency’s strategy of Leaving No One Behind in the Digital Era. “The work of UNCDF is about creating pathways for excluded populations to gain a foothold in the mainstream financial systems that will help them lead more resilient and secure lives … and to show the markets that this isn’t just viable, but that it is good business,” said Karl in her opening address that was followed by a keynote speech from Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation in Rwanda.

"Digital payments today have enabled economic relief packages to be delivered to those that have been hit hard by the pandemic. We have also been able to leverage all these digital payment methods especially in the developing and emerging world to purchase goods and services. All these efforts during this time have driven us an edge into the cashless economy. However, for us to arrive at that cashless economy that we also desire to be in, inclusion of digital payments, access to infrastructure and digital literacy have to be at the heart of all digitization efforts. Inclusive and resilient digital economies must cater for the needs and relevance of all classes of the society and this will include marginalized groups within our respected societies," said Ingabire in her keynote speech.

To kick off the panel discussion that followed, Francois Coupienne, UNCDF Global Digital Lead, introduced the Inclusive Digital Economy Scorecard (IDES) that is part of the set of tools and activities deployed by UNCDF in LDCs. The session was followed by an engaging debate on how digital tools has helped governments carry on with day-to-day tasks and helped business continuity in the time of COVID-19. The panelists included the UN Under Secretary General, Fabrizio Hochschild, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Patrick Njoroge and the President of AirAsia Digital, Aireen Omar. The panel was facilitated by Aiaze Mitha, Digital Ambassador for UNCDF.

The closing session was led by Jaspreet Singh, Global Lead - Financial Health and Innovations at UNCDF who facilitated a panel with Mohamed Khalil, General Manager Financial Wellbeing & Applied Behavioural Science at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Mary Wamae, Executive Director at Equity Group Holdings, Pia Tayag, Director at UNSGSA and N. S. Vishwanathan, Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The panel debated on how to shift the focus from financial inclusion to financial health.

Financial inclusion and financial health are often construed to mean the same thing. One can lead to the other however, there are significant differences. In the past decade or so, the developing world has taken significant strides in financially including people at the last mile. Account ownership has been on the rise, helping developing countries inch closer to 100 per cent financial inclusion. Account usage, however, has not seen a commensurate result, with large gaps between ownership and usage still persistent across developing countries. In the discussions, the panel addressed actions that both the public and private sectors have taken to improve the financial health of their citizens and clients.

The series of events, in 10 satellite countries, were well-received as over 300 people registered to receive reminders for the daily events while the UNCDF online live stream reached over 3500 viewers.

If you missed any of the events, you may find the recording here on the UNCDF YouTube channel.