Welcome to the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s Public Awareness column. Over the next few weeks we will cover a series of articles on financial inclusion, as a lead up to the Reserve Bank of Fiji co-hosting the annual Alliance for Financial Inclusion Global Policy Forum in September.
Policy makers rely on quality information to make important decisions. Financial inclusion has now become an important subject matter to them because it contributes directly to economic growth. It assists in poverty alleviation, creates income generation and employment opportunities. It enables the provision of access to financial products and services by communities that are financially excluded. It encourages micro entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprise development thus impacting the real economy.
A milestone achievement of Fiji’s first medium term strategy for financial inclusion 2010-2014 was the production of a financial inclusion map. The purpose of the map is to show the locations of available financial services or access points in Fiji.