Conference programme
Making finance inclusive and sustainable
Inclusive finance, a driver of fair and environmentally responsible development
As socioeconomic vulnerabilities continue to grow all around the world, financial inclusion is key for reducing them, especially in Africa. Financial services are a cornerstone of development, and it is essential to make them accessible if we are to close the socioeconomic gap.
Current socioeconomic vulnerabilities are being exacerbated by climate change, with access to water, agricultural productivity, food security, health, peace and stability under particular threat. Once again, vulnerable populations are the most exposed to these risks, particularly in developing countries and in Africa.
The goal of the SAM conference is to provide a platform for discussion and sharing ideas. The 2023 edition, on the topic of making finance inclusive and sustainable, will focus on the role that inclusive finance can play – firstly, by mitigating these risks and vulnerabilities and, secondly, by supporting the transition to a green, climate-resilient economy. With regard to achieving this, the importance of commitment and collaboration between different actors in the ecosystem will also be discussed.
SAM conference participants will have a truly unique opportunity to learn about the latest innovations and trends in sustainable financial inclusion.
The conference is structured around three key themes that reflect the various climate issues that the inclusive finance sector is facing:
- Risks & Resilience: exploring the power that financial services have when it comes to helping populations build their resilience to climate change risks. Institutional resilience mechanisms will also be examined. These sessions will provide tools and strategies to identify and manage these climate change-related risks.
- Opportunities: focusing on inclusive finance as a driving force in the transition to a green economy. These sessions will explore how financial products and services can be aligned with climate goals, as well as the importance of making sure this transition also benefits the most disadvantaged populations.
- Partnerships & Ecosystem: emphasising the importance for all inclusive finance actors to work together for climate action. These sessions will illustrate the central role that stakeholders such as regulators and investors have in promoting inclusive and sustainable finance.
Tuesday, 17 October
8.30 - 8.45: Welcome remarks by the SAM organisers
8.45 - 9.15: Opening keynote
Africa and the challenges of climate change
The opening speech will be delivered by a renowned African climate expert and will focus on the effects of climate change in Africa and the challenges faced across the continent. The expert will remind participants how urgent it is that we act on this issue.
Keynote speaker: Youba Sokona (University College of London)
9.15 - 10.15: Opening plenary session
Making Africa’s future sustainable: climate, socio-economic development and inclusive finance
This opening plenary session will offer a chance to broaden the debate so that we can better understand the consequences of climate change on the economies and societies of Africa now and in future. The expert panellists will also encourage debate about the role that inclusive finance can play in addressing these climate-related and socioeconomic challenges.
- Moderator: Matteo Fraschini (Journaliste)
- Speakers: Diana Chepng'eno (UNEP FI), EGBENDEWE Y. G. Aklesso (Université de Lomé), Howard Miller (Independent consultant)
10.15 - 10.30: Coffee break
11.15 - 12.15: Opening ceremony in the presence of state representatives
12.15 - 13.30: Lunch break
13.30 - 14.45: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 1: What do we mean by sustainable inclusive finance? Definitions, taxonomies, labelling
Partnerships & Ecosystem
This session aims to define green inclusive finance and to demonstrate the importance of creating a green taxonomy. Panellists working for research centres or regulators will focus on the certification and labelling of green financial products, highlighting the central role that regulation and the financial ecosystem can play in supporting the development of sustainable finance.
- Moderator: Christoph Jungfleisch (YAPU Solutions)
- Speakers: John Boateng Akuoko-Tawiah (Development Bank Ghana), Youssef Koun (Capital Banking Solutions), Pierre Champsavoir (Smala), Natalia Realpe Carrillo (Hedera/e-MFP Green Finance Action Group)
- Session 2: Beyond taxonomies: the role of regulators in boosting inclusive and sustainable finance
Partnerships & Ecosystem
This session will explore what financial regulators can do to address climate challenges beyond green finance certification and labelling. The panellists, including experts on the subject and regulators, will present examples of regulatory initiatives on climate action and what they mean for the financial sector.
- Moderator : Dethie S. Ndiaye (Global Green Growth Institute - GGGI)
- Speakers: Dr. Paul Oluikpe (Central Bank of Nigeria), Dirk Zetzsche (University of Luxembourg), Edmund Higenbottam (Verdant Capital)
- Workshop 1: Helping financial institutions deal with climate change: assessing risks and strengthening institutional resilience
Risks & Resilience
This workshop will look at the direct and indirect climate risks faced by financial institutions. Speakers will discuss the relevant strategies and tools needed to anticipate and manage these risks. This session will provide an opportunity to start taking concrete steps towards institutional resilience.
- Moderator: Peter Zetterli (CGAP)
- Speakers: Diana Chepng’eno (UNEP FI), Joana Afonso (e-MFP), Sibia Ngayihembako (FINCA DRC)
14.45 - 15.00: Coffee break
15.00 - 16.15: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 3: Carbon markets and payments for environmental services: new opportunities for local communities
Opportunities
This session will focus on the concept of payments for ecosystem services (PES). Examples include carbon credits as payment for carbon reduction or sequestration. It will explore the potential of these PES initiatives to create new economic opportunities for communities as a way of contributing to sustainable development and financial inclusion. The session will cover initiatives from both international and local perspectives.
- Speakers: Jane del Ser (BFA Global), Kassim Juma (Mikoko Pamoja)
- Session 4: Complementary public and private actors for creating a low-carbon economy
Opportunities
This session will emphasise the importance of getting both public and private actors involved and to cooperate to help smooth the transition to a low-carbon economy. Firstly, the investors and microfinance institutions forming this panel will discuss the financing of solutions to help customers access clean energy for domestic and productive use. Secondly, they will look at the importance of financial support mechanisms that allow financial institutions to offer these green products and will discuss what the public sector needs to do to get the private sector more involved.
- Moderator: Umberto Trivella (PAMIGA)
- Speakers: Gabriele Pammesberger (Alliance for Rural Electrification), NSANGOU Oudou (Bboxx EDF Togo), Pascal TAMEGNON (PEBCo-BETHESDA), Valentin Hollain (GIZ)
- Session 5: Inclusive insurance, a key tool for resilience?
Risks & Resilience
During this session, researchers and insurance providers will highlight how insurance products boost their customers’ resilience to climate change-related risks. This session aims to cover opportunities and challenges when promoting insurance as a tool for adapting to climate change.
- Moderator: Asier Achutegui (MicroInsurance Network)
- Speakers: Amadou Traore (Pula Advisors), Bernard Erbyn (Ibisa), Mouhamadou Moustapha MBENGUE (Inclusive Guarantee), Rahab Karanja (Busara Center)
16.15 - 16.30: Coffee break
16.30 - 17.45: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 6: Financial inclusion 3.0: technology as a driver of sustainable development and finance
Opportunities
This session will look closely at the role of technology as a driver for climate-friendly inclusive finance. The goal will be to show that, beyond financial inclusion, technology represents an opportunity to help customers deal with the consequences of climate change. The panel will include representatives of international organisations as well as of digital-finance providers such as fintechs and microfinance institutions.
- Moderator: Katherine Foster (Green digital finance alliance)
- Speakers: Chris Czerwonka (Mosabi), Jacques Tobo (Adec CI), Rachael Eplee (FAI), Vetlou Yahor (FAO), Yvonne Karani (Hiveonline)
- Session 7: Anticipating and reacting: the importance of savings and emergency funds in climate risk management
Risks & Resilience
This session will not only focus on the central role of access to savings but also on the financial mechanisms for dealing with emergencies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. In particular, it will show how these financial services can have a significant impact on improving community resilience in the face of climate change.
- Moderator: Esther Njoroge (FMO)
- Speakers: Anne Dioh (myAgro), Elena Saenz (Global Fund for Widows), Shayne Rose Bulos (World Food Programme)
- Workshop 2: Climate funds: an opportunity for financial institutions to scale up sustainable and inclusive financing
Partnerships & Ecosystem
This workshop will look at the numerous opportunities for financial institutions to build their green portfolio with climate funds.
- Moderator: Kwashie Agbitor (Accion)
- Speakers: David Njiru (Juhudi Kilimo), Ben Wallingford (Incofin), Fethi Cherni (Enda Tamweel), Joan Penche (SIDI)
Wednesday, 18 October
8.30 - 9.30: Networking
9.30 - 10.45: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 8: Migration and climate refugees: inclusive finance as a vector for peace and stability
Risks & Resilience
This session will demonstrate how financial inclusion can bring peace and stability in today’s world where climate change is exacerbating conflict and displacement. The panellists, including national development agencies and civil society organisations, will discuss the importance of investing in local communities to offer them new opportunities.
- Moderator: Daniela Diedrich-Ristic (European Investment Bank)
- Speakers: Aqrchet Diana (Opportunity Bank Uganda), Amina Tchedé (C.F.S F.C - Club des Femmes des Savanes pour la promotion de la culture), Eugene Leo (AFD), Olivier Girard (Creative Associates)
- Session 9: Is a holistic approach key to developing climate-smart agriculture?
Partnerships & Ecosystem
This session will consider how inclusive finance actors can facilitate the adoption of more sustainable farming practices in partnership with other organisations. Following a presentation on smart agriculture practices, panellists representing a wide range of stakeholders from agritech companies to the world of research will highlight the importance of non-financial and financial services in making small farms more resilient.
- Moderator : Marie Ena Derenoncourt (Alliance Bioversity & CIAT)
- Speakers: Alloysius Attah (Farmerline), Charles Ihougan (Ferme Cadette), Lydia Baffour (Opportunity International), Olga Biosca (Glasgow Caledonian University)
- Workshop 3: Inclusive finance as a driver of the transition to a green economy
Opportunities
This workshop will explore the role of inclusive finance in supporting the ecological transition. In particular, the panellists will discuss how financial and non-financial products and services can be aligned with climate goals, especially in sectors such as urban transport, waste recycling and access to clean energy.
- Moderator: Lisa Tietiembou Barutel (La Fabrique)
- Speakers: Ayayi Gah Ayi (Assilassimé), Jean Luc Moutore (Mivo Energy), Paul Eric Foudji (Gozem)
10.45 - 11.00: Coffee break
11.00 - 12.15: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 10: Investing in nature: how inclusive finance can help preserve biodiversit
Partnerships & Ecosystem
This session will demonstrate how inclusive financial services can be used to help preserve biodiversity. It will focus on biodiversity initiatives adopted by microfinance institutions or NGOs and will highlight opportunities for financial service providers to protect the environment.
- Moderator: Christina Ehlert (ADA)
- Speakers: Christoph Jungfleisch (YUPI Solutions), Claudien Nsengimana (Inkunga), Yves Zawadi (UNCDF/CAFI), Olivier Habimana (IUCN)
- Session 11: Placing climate issues at the heart of finance: new business models for financial institutions
Opportunities
This session will look into the ways financial service providers are implementing sustainable transformation strategies to address climate change. The panellists, including financial service providers and support organisations, will present different sustainable institutional and organisational approaches with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities surrounding their implementation.
- Moderator: Carina Dunker (IPC Gmbh)
- Speakers: Alioune Seydi (La Banque Agricole), Jean - Claude Thetika (FPM), Kongkona Sarma (Sidona Green LTD), Olivier Bailly-Béchet (Advans)
- Workshop 4: Gender and climate change: a dual challenge for inclusive finance
Risks & Resilience
Panellists with a variety of perspectives (from investors to international organisations) will explore the relationships between financial inclusion, women’s empowerment and climate change. The panellists will show how financial services such as microinsurance and green loans can address specific vulnerabilities for women with regard to climate change.
- Moderator: Simon Agez (PHB)
- Speakers: Hilary Barry (Lady Agri), Isaac Obongo (Village Enterprise), Noémie Renier (Incofin), Sophie Mills (FSD Network)
12.15 - 14.00: Lunch break
14.00 - 15.15: Parallel sessions (of your choice):
- Session 12: Food security is threatened by climate change – how can inclusive finance help?
Risks & Resilience
This session will explore the challenges of climate change for food security (extreme weather conditions, changing precipitation, and agricultural pests and diseases). Panellists representing development agencies and microfinance institutions will explore how inclusive financial services can encourage the promotion of sustainable, climate-resilient farming practices and thereby strengthen food security for populations.
- Moderator: Myka Reinsch Sinclair (e-MFP)
- Speakers: Jean Bosco Iyacu (AFR), Nicolo Tomaselli (University of Florence), Pilo Mikémina (Université de Kara), Vladimir Bousrez (Access bank Zambia)
- Session 13: Transparency and impact: measuring the real effect of sustainable inclusive finance to avoid greenwashing
Partnerships & Ecosystem
Led by experts from international organisations and companies specialising in impact assessments, this session will emphasise how important it is to measure the environmental and social impact of financial institutions. The panellists will discuss the challenges of impact measurement whilst highlighting the importance of working together to develop standardised impact measurement and reporting tools to avoid greenwashing.
- Moderator: Amelia Greenberg (SPTF + Cerise)
- Speakers: Natalia Realpe Carrillo (HEDERA Sustainible solutions), Janet Kuteli (Fortune Credit), Yves Zawadi (UNCDF)
- Workshop 5: Involving local communities in designing people-centric, inclusive and sustainable finance solutions
Opportunities
This interactive workshop will introduce human-centred design (HCD) and indigenous knowledge as key factors for innovation in the sustainable inclusive sector. The panellists, including HCD experts and representatives of financial institutions, will present case studies on the design of financial products and services tailored to the needs of communities affected by climate change.
- Moderator: Mathieu Soglonou (Confederation des Institutions Financières de l'Afrique de l'Ouest - CIF-AO)
- Speakers: Aimé Kaboré (Green hope), Fedy Adrien (CIF Vie), Mame Awa Mbaye (Fondation Mastercard), Tyler Tappendorf (TAPT4 Design Consulting)
15.15 - 15.30: Coffee break
15.30 - 17.00: Closing plenary
From gaining awareness to taking action - SAM takeaways
Representatives of development finance organisations and NGOs will share what they have learnt from this conference during this closing plenary session.
- Moderator: Matteo Fraschini (Journaliste)
- Speakers: Dicko Sadio (Proparco), Laura Foschi (ADA), Véronique Faujour (FGCA)
17.00 - 17.30: Closing keynote
A militant environmental activist’s dream
During the closing keynote, an environmental activist from East Africa involved in the young people’s fight for climate action will share her experience and her vision for the future. This keynote will seek to inspire all participants to become agents of change and to take concrete steps for climate action.
- Moderator: Matteo Fraschini (Journaliste)
- Speaker: Ineza Umuhoza Grace (Green protector / Loss and damage youth coalition)
17.30 - 18.00: Closing remarks and acknowledgements