Tag Archives: Queen Maxima

8 Billion Reasons: Inclusive Finance as a Catalyst for Climate Action

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“Inclusive finance has a unique and critical role to play in ensuring that climate finance makes its way into the hands of the most vulnerable and empowers them to act… Given the increasing scale and frequency of climate shocks, now is the time for united action to make inclusive finance a corner-stone of climate response, creating a more sustainable future for those most affected by climate change.”

— H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, and Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group

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Achieving Financial Inclusion: Fintech, account usage, and innovation

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Submitted by H.M. Queen Maxima of The Netherlands on June 14, 2018

For almost a decade, the global community and national governments have made concerted efforts to expand financial inclusion—creating a financial system that works for all and opens the doors to greater stability and equitable progress.

madagascar_0This has been a demanding challenge. At the start of our engagement on financial access back in 2013, we said that having a real target with an end date would keep us focused and give us a benchmark against which we could measure progress.

Last month we learned that we have made strong and consistent progress—a real cause for celebration. According to the Global Findex database, more than half a billion people gained a financial transaction account over the last three years, thanks to a combination of technology, private investment, policy reforms, and support from the global community. Since 2011, the share of adults with formal accounts has risen from 51 percent to 69 percent, and financial access has expanded to include an additional 1.2 billion people.

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