Webinar

26
Apr
Suitable Digital Technology Solutions to Promote Smallholder Finance in Asia

Monday, April 26, 2021

Date: 26 April 2021
Time: 15.00-16.30 hrs. Bangkok time (GMT+7 hrs.)

Innovations in digital technology-enabled solutions proved to be one of the most potent vehicles to provide financial services for the smallholders and other actors in the agricultural value chains at a lower cost, increase speed, security and transparency. These technologies also support the financial institutions to develop more tailored financial services and scale up their reach out in the hinterlands. Digital technology for delivering financial services are generally characterized by low marginal costs and greater transparency with the likelihood of responding to both the supply-side barriers to access to financial services.1 as well as the demand-side barriers.
Most of the financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region are leveraging the high mobile phone penetration for delivering ‘Mobile Money’ services which have been considered as the most significant contribution of digital technology. Currently, Asia hosts 473 million registered accounts, making up almost half of all mobile money accounts globally3. These accounts are a potentially important basis for delivering financial services, such as payments, credit, cross border remittances and insurances to the smallholders.

OBJECTIVES:
The webinar will provide a platform for the financial institutions, central banks, commercial banks, digital financial service providers in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss their practical experiences, innovations and good practices. Primarily, the speakers will discuss:
• The digital trends and innovations for financial inclusion of smallholder farmers, rural enterprises, SMEs and other enterprises engaged in agribusiness and its value chains;
• The role of the financial service providers/facilitators (central banks and other public agencies) to provide policy support during the implementation of financial services through digital technologies;
• Challenges to adopt the innovative tools and practices for scaling financial services to the excluded category of enterprises including the ‘missing middle’;
• The digital tools and techniques adopted by the financial service providers (FSPs) to enhance financial literacy and assess the risks of financing small ticket enterprises.

 

SPEAKERS:
The speakers for this webinar are featuring the leaders from the financial institutions in the region actively involved in using digital technologies to reach out to their clientele, representative from international agency promoting digital financial services and digital service providers. They will discuss their experiences on the current challenges and successes in scaling up digital technology-supported financial services for smallholders and rural enterprises including SMEs. This webinar s a bilateral event and will be jointly hosted by APRACA and CABFIN Partnership.

  • Opening remarks (5 mins): Mr. Jun He, Policy Officer, ESP/FAO (on behalf of CABFIN Partnership
  • Speaker 1 (15 mins): Mr. William Marvin, Deputy Director of the Finance Division, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);
  • Speaker 2 (15 mins): Mr. Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Managing Director (Retail & Digital Banking), State Bank of India (SBI);
  • Speaker 3 (15 mins): Mr. Yao Wei, Deputy General Manager of Industrial Client Department, Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC);
  • Moderator: Mr. Prasun Kumar Das, Secretary-General, Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA)

The webinar will be delivered in the English language. The questions may be asked in English, via Microsoft Teams Meeting.

The webinar access link will be provided upon request, interested participants please write to us at info@rfilc.org

Concept Note Speakers' biography Presentation FAO/CABFIN Presentation FAO Presentation FAO-SBI Presentation ADBC