53rd Midi de Microfinance to Address Role of Cybersecurity

The 53rd Midi de la Microfinance, organised by Luxembourg non-profit organisation ADA, will take place on Tuesday 13 July 2021 from 12:00 to 13:00 via Zoom.

For more than a decade now, there has been a wide-ranging debate on how the digitalisation process is proving to be a valuable lever for increasing financial inclusion. The African continent has been particularly dynamic and rapid in the adoption of digital solutions for people that before had no access to formal financial instruments. The reasons for this are varied and the arrival of relatively low-cost digital solutions capable of filling a vacuum and serving a population that is on average very young are all elements that have favoured this trend. 

But if it is true, as the Mastercard Foundation and IFC wrote a few years ago, that "Financial inclusion is one of Africa's great success stories over the past decade" thanks to the digitalisation process, the future of this success story will also depend on the attention and resources that will be devoted to the issue of cybersecurity.

This Midi will allow participants to understand why cybersecurity is a key issue for the inclusive finance sector and its future development.

The speakers, Sheila Okiro (African Development Bank) and Jean-Louis Perrier (Suricate Solutions) have extensive experiences on the topic and represent two organisations that have recently launched the African Cybersecurity Resource Center (ACRC) for Financial Inclusion, a continent-wide initiative that aims to strengthen the cyber resilience of the financial system in Africa, secure the fast development of digital financial systems and ultimately increase financial inclusion on the continent, which is key for economic and human development.

Ivo Jeník, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP, will conclude the Midi by highlighting the main points that emerged from the discussion.

Matthew Genazzini, Coordinator of the Smallholder Safety Net Up-scaling Programme (SSNUP) at ADA, will moderate this discussion, which will be held in English with interpretation into French.

For further information, including registration details, visit: www.ada-microfinance.org/en/events/midis-microfinance.