On 20 April 2021, UNCDF participated in the Mobile Technology for Development (MT4D) Conference in Ghana, a two-day virtual event with the theme “The Rise of Africa, Promoting Africa’s Sustainable Digital Ecosystem.”

The MT4D Conference is a flagship financial ecosystem gathering of banks, electronic money issuers, payment service providers, fintechs and all digital service providers in Ghana and beyond. The conference was organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication and the Financial Inclusion Forum Africa, two private sector led initiatives that bring together stakeholders within the financial, technology and development sectors to network, dialogue and leverage insights and perspectives to drive Ghana’s financial inclusion agenda. Under the GrEEn Project, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa, UNCDF supported the event to showcase digital transformation initiatives currently implemented in Ghana.

The virtual conference was also an opportunity to present how financial inclusion is accelerating in Ghana through digital technology.

During the conference, UNCDF led one session titled “Funding Innovation in a Digital Ecosystem” to explain its approach. UNCDF uses a mix of technical assistance, customer centricity and de-risking financing mechanisms to support innovative financial providers to address vulnerable segment’s needs and challenges and accompany them in their journey towards economic independence. As an example, UNCDF shared the COVID-19 response for MSMEs, a regional initiative in West Africa that supports innovators and MSMEs during the global pandemic. Another example showcased in the session is the GrEEn project implemented in Ghana in partnership with European Union under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. In this project the team engages with innovators to test and pilot innovative digital solutions for vulnerable segments such as youth and women.

“We start from the segments we want to serve to unlock specific constraints that prevent them to fully access and use financial services,” said Sabine Mensah, UNCDF Regional Manager for Inclusive Digital Economies.Speaking on the role of the EU in deepening financial inclusion in Ghana, UNCDF Financial Inclusion Specialist, Arianna Gasparri said, “Thanks to the EU funding, UNCDF will support different financial providers to reach 70,000 youth, women and MSMEs with a mix of different financial services adapted to their needs, including but not limited to financial education, savings, remittances-linked services and alternative funding business models such as crowdfunding.”

Under the GrEEn Project and its broader strategy of leaving no one behind in the digital era, UNCDF is providing de-risking instruments to allow innovative financial providers to reach the last mile and pilot new use cases and business models.The conference provided a space for dialogue between stakeholders in the digital finance sector and the wider public.

UNCDF is glad to contribute to such dialogue to make sure financial inclusion stakeholders share challenges and best practices to unlock the key constraints of inclusion and build resilient and inclusive digital economies.

Read more on the GrEEn Project here.