Press Release No. : 08/2022
Date : 04 May 2022
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) today launched Fiji’s third National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2022-2030 (“NFIS”) following approval by the National Financial Inclusion Taskforce (NFIT) earlier this month and endorsement by the RBF Board at its April 2022 meeting. The NFIS will guide financial inclusion development work in the years ahead and is a product of extensive stakeholder consultations with the financial, private and public sectors, civil society organisations and development partners.
The NFIS is aligned to Fiji’s achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The new strategy prioritises vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of the population and in particular aims to address the persistent barriers and challenges faced by women, youths, people living with disabilities as well as micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) business owners in the financial sector. By making available financial products that meet the needs of users, the NFIS will help vulnerable Fijians and MSMEs build resilience against economic shocks such as COVID-19 and climate change induced events.
Governor of the Reserve Bank and Chairman of the NFIT, Mr Ariff Ali said “The new NFIS focuses on the people who need the most help. We will move away from the access-centred plans that defined our financial inclusion efforts previously to a strategy focused on increasing usage by emphasising customer-centric policy initiatives that meet the needs and addresses the persistent gaps and inequalities faced by individuals as well as MSMEs. I have no doubt whatsoever that we will achieve the objectives set out within this strategy because I have confidence in the passion and commitment of our partners and stakeholders.” He added “The Reserve Bank will do all it can to facilitate development and innovation towards meeting our financial inclusion goals so that come 2030, we will see further progress made translated into improved livelihoods for ordinary Fijians.”
The new NFIS 2022-2030 framework targets four thematic areas of development:-
- Inclusive Finance – ensuring that Fijians, especially the most vulnerable and financially excluded, are able to access and effectively use a range of products and services that are affordable and designed to suit their needs;
- Digital Financial Services – a key catalyst that promotes financial inclusion by overcoming barriers to formal financial service access and usage by our underserved target groups;
- MSME Finance – providing alternative financing options for MSMEs and includes supporting the development of a dedicated MSME-focussed financial institution complemented with appropriate support programs; and
- Consumer Protection and Financial Capability – includes the implementation of a robust market conduct framework, a national financial and digital literacy strategy and initiatives that will build financial capability at school level.
The implementation of the strategy will be guided by the NFIT, a governing structure comprising private and public sector members, civil society organisations and development partners and supported by four Working Groups aligned to the four thematic areas of the NFIS.
The RBF appreciates the support of its stakeholders towards the development of the NFIS 2022-2030 which now serves as a financial inclusion blueprint for the next nine years and represents our commitment to advancing the financial inclusion agenda to allow all Fijians to be a part of and benefit from inclusive and sustainable economic growth. A copy of the NFIS 2022-2030 is available on www.rbf.gov.fj.