Experts plan financial inclusion for rural communities
Experts plan financial inclusion for rural communities
The government is partnering with domestic and international organisations to revamp the Lao Postal Savings Institute as an entity that offers better access to financial services in rural areas.
Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), Making Access to Finance More Inclusive for Poor People (MAFIPP) and the Universal Posta l Union (UPU) yesterday convened an initial stakeholder meeting to discuss apropriate forms of assistance for the Institute.
The objectives of this long-term technical assistance are to leverage the postal network for financial inclusion and to turn the Institute into an organisation that meets the needs of Laos when the country joins t he Asean Economic Community in 2015.
This assistance aims to enable access to financial services in rural areas by making the Institute stronger and strengthening the quality and variety of its products in order to create compatibility.
A financial inclusion expert from the UPU, Mr Alexandre Berthaud, presented the conclusions of a technical assistance mission to Laos that took place in November last year.
His report included recommendations for the future role of the Institute, based on the UPU's success factors for postal financial inclusion.
The results of the mission were in general positive, but also highlighted several challenges the Institute must overcome to play an important role in financial inclusion in Laos.
The mission also made a number of recommendations for financial inclusion through the postal service, including a strategy for the future development of the Lao Postal Savings Institute as well as potential partnerships between the Institute and financial service providers.
These points were presented at the meeting. In addition, a plan for technical assistance has been formulated to help the Institute develop products that meet the needs of people in rural areas and those who do not use banks.
Technical assistance to the Institute is one of the core activities under the MAFIPP programme implemented by the BOL.
Director General of BOL's Financial Institution Supervision Department, Dr Akhom Praseuth, said he believed financial inclusion would help to increase cooperation with financial service providers in Laos. This would both strengthen and profit these partnerships.
MAFIPP is a US$10 million programme funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and AusAID.
The use of financial inclusion programmes helps postal operators to become key actors for financial inclusion.
Yesterday's meeting was attended by representatives from BOL, the ministries of Finance, Posts and Telecommunications, the Lao Postal Savings Institute, banks and micro-finance institutions.
vientiane times
