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industry. Empirical research has proven that without
the proper development and deployment of digital technology, the world will fall short of achieving the SDGs. Encouragingly, the rise of fintech companies and their integrated services, operations, infrastructure, and processes, has contributed positively to the financial inclusion agenda. Financial inclusion is an important goal of financial development; accordingly, it has been positioned as a key enabler of other developmental goals in the 2030 Agenda, where it is featured as a target in eight of the 17 goals. In this regard, fintech and other inclusive digital financial services contribute to the realization of financial inclusion and are poised to yield significant benefits on underserved populations.
To address the financial inclusion challenges and push the frontier of access to finance, ICD established the Financial Intelligence Platform (FIP) with the aim to promote access to financial services in underserved financial markets in its member countries, with fintech at its core. The fintech sector will achieve higher operational efficiency and provide a superior customer experience. This will accelerate the pace of progress to achieve several related SDGs and is a major objective of the
G20 development agenda. Fintech will drive innovation and serve the financing needs of a broader population. It will open the sector to emerging Fintech players, remove obstacles that hinder the growth of finance companies, unlock financing for SMEs, and increase mortgage penetration. Furthermore, the Fintech sector will improve access to financing and enhance product offerings to better serve the needs of unbanked or underserved populations.
ICD SYNERGIES AND PARTNERSHIPS
ICD leading the Investment Pillar under the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges Programme (AATB). The AATB
Programme is a regional trade promotion programme aimed at addressing some of the challenges faced in promoting trade between the two regions. The AATB Programme is expected to increase investments and trade between the Arab and African regions and covers different dimensions including infrastructure financing, advisory and technical assistance. ICD’s role is focused on the Investment Pillar. During 2021, ICD worked on Lines of Finance and Term Finance with an AATB component and co-financed three Line of Finance facilities with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) including USD 25 million to First City Monument Bank Nigeria, EUR 20 million to Afriland First Bank Cameroon, and USD 20 million to Coronation Merchant Bank in Nigeria.
ICD joined the SDG Finance Advisory Board for the Global Councils on SDGs in 2021. The Global Councils on SDGs, an initiative by the United Nations, World Bank and the OECD is a unique interdisciplinary network
of decision makers from governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector coming together to share innovative practices and discuss the creative implementation of the 17 SDGs at national
and global levels. The Global Councils were launched in February 2018 during the World Government Summit in Dubai, and council members follow a two-year work plan leveraging their networks, expertise and influence to facilitate new partnerships between governments and other entities to implement their innovative solutions. A new term for 2021-2023 is underway
and in September 2021, ICD joined the SDG Finance Advisory Board as a member of this panel of experts. The aim is to assist in the design, implementation and scale-up of the initiatives launched by the other SDG councils by offering them the opportunity to tap into the knowledge and network of members, and to mobilize funding sources to enable and optimize the target outcomes of these initiatives.
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