Policy makers across Africa have called for improved financial services accessible by low income earners. The call was made during the second African Forum on Microfinance that began Tuesday in Kigali.

The three-day meeting which started against the backdrop of economic and financial crisis attracted more than 60 regional leaders from 19 Central and West African countries.

The issues under deliberation were to examine how policy measures can be used to help improve access to financial services for low income earners.

According to the agenda of the meeting that ends today, policy makers are deliberting on the regulation and supervision of microfinance institutions, regulation of branchless banking, credit reporting agencies, and client protection.

The Central Bank Governor, Francois Kanimba, said that the deliberations will help policy makers exert critical influence on the future of the mainstreaming of banking services on the continent.

"Financial institutions need regulatory frameworks that are conducive to competition as well as new services, in a context of transparency,” he added.

The forum comes at a time when Africa has made significant progress in the area of access to financial services over the past decade. However a press statement reads that access for low-income people in the region still remains extremely limited.

Jennifer Isern, the Head of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) in Africa said that just one in five households has access to financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa—one of the lowest rates in the world.

"With the right policy direction, Africa is poised for significant expansion of financial services, building on strong saving culture and a very diverse landscape of financial service providers,” Isern added.

It is believed that credit bureaus can play a vital role in expanding access to credit by providing information on client indebtedness and capacity to repay.

The International Finance Cooperation (IFC) recently pledged to assist Rwanda draft laws that will be used in the regulation of the planned Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). 

It will be its first CRB under the management of Compuscan, a South African firm that provides consumer and commercial credit information. CGAP are the organisers of the forum in partnership with the Central of Bank of Rwanda.

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