G20 Leverages Technology to Advance Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs

First G20 Infrastructure Working Group Meeting and Infrastructure Investment Symposium Concludes in Riyadh
First G20 Infrastructure Working Group Meeting and Infrastructure Investment Symposium Concludes in Riyadh

Discussing financial inclusion of underserved groups and itspotential for unlocking economic opportunities and enabling inclusive androbust development was at the center of the first G20 Global Partnershipfor Financial Inclusion Plenary Meeting (GPFI) that took place on the 23rd and24th of January in Riyadh.

The meeting was preceded by the G20 Global Partnership forFinancial Inclusion seminar. Despite significant progress over the past decadeto advance the topic of financial inclusion, challenges persist. The G20 GPFIis examining how technological advancements can help bridge the gap in thenumber of young people and women with no access to banking services.

According to The Global Findex Database 2017, there areabout 1.7 billion unbanked adults worldwide. Those excluded from financialservices are disproportionately young people and women. In addition, the SMEfinancing gap is estimated to be 4.5 trillion USD.

The G20 GPFI seminar was a one-day event that brought togetherspeakers and attendees from G20 members and non-G20 countries, internationalorganizations, non-governmental organizations, multilateral development banks,standard setting bodies, as well as regional and international regulators, andprivate sector stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, the Saudi co-chair of the G20 GPFI, Mr.Haitham Al Ghulaiga said: "the focus in 2020 will be to harness digital andinnovative technologies to advance financial inclusion of youth, women and SMEsto unleash their full potential and contribution to economic growth in bothadvanced and emerging markets."

Following the seminar, the Saudi G20 Presidency presented itspriorities and work program for the GPFI meeting, which focused on three areas:advancing digital financial inclusion of youth, empowering women throughdigital financial inclusion, and promoting digital and innovative SMEfinancing.

Further information about the G20, including the PresidencyAgenda and full program of events, can be found at www.g20.org

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