NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The Annual Banking & Finance Conference 2016 is scheduled to be held in Accra Ghana on the 31st May – 2 June 2016 under the timely theme: “Promoting Financial Inclusion: Connecting people to Banking & Financial Service“. Financial exclusion can and does place individuals and families into a never ending cycle of disadvantage with very negative social consequences. Banking and financial services must seek ways to increase their mass and tap into the 66% (World Bank) population that still lack bank accounts on the continent.

Against this backdrop, the agenda to deliver financial services to those that banks have traditionally not reached should now more than ever be at the top of corporate growth strategy.

Financial inclusion has been recognized as one of the most powerful tools in the fight against poverty. The objective of this flagship 2016 event is to sharpen the focus of thinking on how financial institutions can grow by focusing on promoting financial inclusion as a core part of their business strategies while at the same providing a client centred products in the mass market. The conference will also look at new and innovative financial technology (FINTECH) solutions that making financial inclusion possible and profitable.

The 2016 ABFC conference will include a broad range of discussions and debates by top speakers from across Africa bringing theoretical and practical experiences on how various sectors can work together to promote financial inclusion.. Key stakeholders will include traditional banks, insurance; NGOs, telcos; retail stores, donors, investors, policymakers, regulators, MFI, FMCGs.. Financial institutions must collaborate, partner and learn from non-financial players to expand their products and services to new customer segments. The question then is how do they do this?

The event will be a catalyst for debate, best practice, knowledge exchange and partnerships among the practitioners, policy-makers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve significantly greater financial inclusion in the region.