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MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON GAINS IN FINANCIAL INCLUSION
RESILIENCE In addition to the three dimensions of financial inclusion discussed above, it is also important to recognize the potential of financial inclusion to build resilience to sudden shocks and changes, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis.
To find out more about AFIs IGF initiatives read: Promoting Inclusive Green Finance Initiatives and Policies report. > View here
Greening the Financial Sector Through Provision Policies: The Role of Central Banks report. > View here
2.4
LESSON 1
Financial services can be harnessed to alleviate adversity caused by catastrophic events and natural disasters. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how vulnerable the global economy is to catastrophic events. At the same time, it shows that people can harness financial services, especially in digital form, to better deal with adversity and economic hardship. Mobile money payments have surged across SSA as friends and families support each other during the lockdowns caused by the pandemic. Governments around the world take advantage of previous financial inclusion efforts as they channel emergency support transfer to vulnerable populations using branchless agent banking networks and digital channels. These financial networks between individuals and between people and the government can be expected to be as useful in enhancing resilience and supporting recovery after future natural disasters as they are during the current public health crisis.47
47 Volz, U., P. Knaack, J. Nyman, L. Ramos, and J. Moling (2020), Inclusive Green Finance: From Concept to Practice. Kuala Lumpur and London: Alliance for Financial Inclusion and SOAS, University of London. Available at: https://www.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AFI_IGF_ SOAS_AW3_digital.pdf
