Honduras Recognized as Ambassador for Gender Inclusive Finance at the Global Policy Forum of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion

The National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS), represented by Commissioner President Marcio G. Sierra Discua, participated in the 2022 Global Policy Forum of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) that was held from Monday, September 5 to Thursday, September 8, 2022 at the Dead Sea, Jordan. In this event, the CNBS was recognized as Ambassador of Gender Inclusive Finance.

The event was organized by the Central Bank of Jordan and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The theme of the Global Policy Forum 2022 (GPF) was “Moving Forward Together: Towards a Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Future”, exploring the role financial inclusion plays in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on marginalized and vulnerable populations to ensure that the recovery is fully inclusive, green. and sustainable.

Honduras for the first time was recognized as a Gender Inclusive Finance Ambassador for its work on Inclusive Finance initiatives that promote the pace of change in the strategic implementation of commitments and the reduction of the gender gap in relation to access to financial services. The Gender Inclusive Finance Ambassadors (GIF) initiative was launched in September 2019, at AFI’s annual Global Policy Forum (GPF) in Kigali, Rwanda.

This is a great recognition for the country, as the Gender Inclusive Finance Ambassadors initiative gives recognition to member institutions with strong commitments in Gender Inclusive Finance and serves as a means to encourage other member institutions to take similar steps so that the Ambassadors group continues to grow as members advance in the work of gender inclusive finance.

To be eligible as an Ambassador, members of the institution must meet most of a set of relevant Gender Inclusive Finance indicators, including changing the Gender Inclusive Finance policy, collecting sex-disaggregated data, increased access to credit for entrepreneurship, and support to develop a women’s leadership strategy.

AFI recognizes each year member institutions and officials for their contribution and participation through the AFI Awards in different categories. This year in the category of technical leadership award, Ms. Ligia Marcela Herrera was the winner on behalf of the National Commission of Banks and Insurance.

During the Global Policy Forum, President Marcio Sierra held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Alfred Hannig, Director of AFI, where they addressed issues on the initiatives that Honduras is promoting on financial inclusion with a gender approach, in order to raise awareness in the institutions supervised by the CNBS, so that they work on the development of financial products and services that meet the needs of women. including SMEs led by them.

On behalf of the CNBS, a technical team representing Honduras also participated in the event, composed of Ramón Caceres of the Regulation Management Research and Development, Barbara Gonzáles and Ligia Marcela Herrera of the Financial User Protection Management.

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The Alliance for Financial Inclusion is a policy leadership alliance involving Central Banks and Financial Regulatory Institutions with the common goal of promoting financial inclusion at the national, regional and international levels. AFI partners with regulators, international organizations, and private sector leaders to drive practical solutions and facilitate the implementation of impactful policy changes through its cooperative model that incorporates peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and peer-to-peer transformation.