Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme Begins

The UNDP, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the European Union Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Microfinance Programme (EU) have combined forces to launch the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme. The PFIP is a four-year programme and will operate out the UNDP Pacific Centre in Suva, Fiji.

The purpose of the PFIP is to help low-income households, small and microenterprises to access appropriate and sustainable financial services. To do so, PFIP aims to work with commercial, non-profit and public sector partners to push the limits of traditional banking and microfinance, promote and invest in new ideas and service models, and take advantage of new technologies that are proving effective in reaching remote areas around the world. While PFIP can and will work directly with financial service providers, it can also work with non-bank entities, including telecommunications providers, insurance companies, market research firms and others who can play a part in broadening and deepening access to financial services. PFIP is finalizing its first year 2009 work plan which will prioritize building and sharing market information, research or pilot projects in the in the larger Pacific Island Countries, and following up on the UNDP’s financial literacy activities. It will work closely with AusAID, NZAid, ADB, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The PFIP team is led by Pacific Financial Inclusion Advisor, Tillman Bruett who has over 15 years experience in commercial banking, microfinance, and financial inclusion. Till was a founding partner of Alternative Credit Technologies (ACT), a consulting company specializing on building inclusive financial systems and sustainable financial institutions, and he worked in the 1990s for FINCA International, an international network organization that operated microfinance institutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern and Central Europe. He was adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advance International Studies and has taught regularly at Georgetown University.

Jeff Liew is the team’s Pacific Partnerships and Business Development Advisor. Jeff has provided policy advice and capacity building in the development of inclusive financial sectors, strengthening the growth and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, alternative livelihoods creation especially in rural areas and leads the Centre’s work in facilitating pro-poor private sector investments. Jeff has strong participatory and commercial background, with over 20 years of development work and is a recognised practitioner on livelihoods issues facing small island development states.

To contact the PFIP, please e-mail tillman.bruett@undp.org .

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Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme Begins