The Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP)/TRIGGER project has supported the Association of Microfinance Organizations of Tajikistan (AMFOT) in holding a two-day national conference entitled “Financial Inclusion: global trends, opportunities, best practices” that took place in Dushanbe on October 20-21.
The conference participants included representatives of the Government, the National bank of Tajikistan, the Majlisi Oli, international financial institutions, investment and consulting companies, international organizations, local entrepreneurs and media.
The conference focused on issues related to identification and exploration of effective ways of implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy of Tajikistan, increase in foreign investment in the country’s banking sector, raising awareness of ecosystem factors, digitization of financial services and development of delivery channels, and transition to the cashless economy.
Islamic banking, green finances, crowdfunding as well as women and youth access to finance programs also became the topics of the conference.
Tajikistan launched a National Financial Inclusion Strategy, developed with support from IFC, to facilitate access to financial services for individuals and small businesses last month. The strategy, which runs from 2022-2026, is part of a larger effort to create jobs and stimulate economic growth in the country.
The strategy is a multi-stakeholder effort spearheaded by the National Bank of Tajikistan. It is designed to: accelerate the development of digital financial services; diversify the financial services offered by banks, with a focus on savings, credit, insurance and Islamic financing; support innovative financial services that meet the needs of small and medium enterprises, including female-led businesses; spur the development of an integrated system for protecting the rights of financial consumers; and promote financial literacy and help people make more informed financial decisions.
