Press release
Kampala, Uganda – 25 July 2024 – The Graça Machel Trust, in collaboration with New Faces New Voices (NFNV) networks from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, will host the East African Community (EAC) Regional Convening on Women’s Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy. This hybrid event, themed “Digital Finance: Promoting Accountability for Women’s Financial Inclusion,” will take place on Thursday, 25 July 2024. The event will explore strategies for enhancing women’s access to digital financial services and creating an inclusive financial ecosystem in East Africa.
Promoting accountability for women’s financial inclusion is critical in the digital age due to the persistent gender disparities in access to financial services. According to the World Bank Financial Inclusion Database, there is a 9% global gender gap in access to formal bank accounts. In East Africa, the disparity is evident with significant differences in digital financial access between men and women. For example, in Uganda, only 38% of women have access compared to 45% of men; in Kenya, 42% of women have access compared to 48% of men; in Tanzania, 35% of women have access compared to 47% of men; and similar trends are observed in Rwanda. These statistics underscore the urgent need for gender-responsive policies and collaborative efforts to dismantle barriers and create an inclusive financial ecosystem that advance women economically.
Founder of the Graça Machel Trust, HE Graça Machel, will join experts and other dignitaries, such as the Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Minister for East African Community Affairs and 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, and the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, Ms Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye.
Mrs Machel will deliver a keynote address; she says, “We must ensure that women in rural or urban areas have equal access to the tools and resources needed to drive the digital economy. Women should be both participants and leaders in this space of financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and education.”
The East African Committee Regional Convening plays a crucial role in promoting women’s economic advancement in the digital economy. Our goal is to explore and implement strategies that enhance accountability and transparency in the digital financial sector. By addressing these challenges, we aim to bridge the gender gap in financial inclusion. Through collaborative efforts from governments, financial institutions, and civil society, we can create an inclusive financial ecosystem. This event will showcase the importance of digital literacy programs and inclusive regulatory frameworks to ensure every woman in East Africa has equal access to transformative digital financial services.
END
Download programme here
Download speakers’ profiles here
***
About the Graça Machel Trust: Since its establishment in 2010, the Graça Machel Trust has been at the forefront of amplifying women’s voices and promoting their advancement in various spheres.
About New Faces New Voices: The Graça Machel Trust’s Women in Finance – New Faces New Voices (NFNV) focuses on expanding the role and influence of women in the financial sector. NFNV advocates for women’s access to finance and financial services. The network aims to bridge the funding gap in financing women-owned businesses in Africa and to advocate for policy and legislative changes. The network aims to advance women’s financial inclusion by bringing more women into the formal financial system.
The Expert Leaders Group (ELG) in Financial Inclusion is a high-level expert group of strong African women leaders in the finance sector. The ELG, convened under the leadership of H.E Mrs. Graça Machel, consists of female Deputy Governors of Central Banks, financial regulators, and senior financial sector leaders. The group’s mission is to drive systemic actions that advance women’s active participation in the digital economy, thereby elevating the voices of African women.
For more information, questions, and queries contact, the Graça Machel Trust Communications Unit
Sarah Mpata: Sarahm@gracamacheltrust.org
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.