Inclusive and innovative finance

By valuing the expertise of the leading international financial centre and relying on integrated local development approaches, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation aims to eradicate poverty and implement the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through inclusive and innovative finance. Taking advantage of new financial tools, innovative finance focuses on the creation of impact investment opportunities focused on development.

With regard to its strategic partnerships, the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs has renewed its support to several partners.

A new agreement has been signed for a period of two years with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a World Bank think tank with the mission of improving the lives of vulnerable people by promoting innovative solutions.

During a visit to the House of Microfinance on 2 May 2022, Franz Fayot also signed a new three-year agreement with the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), the main network of European organisations and individuals active in the financial inclusion sector.

Support for the LuxFLAG labelling agency has also been renewed through a new two-year agreement.

The year 2022 also featured the European Microfinance Week, an annual fixture for experts in the sector, whose flagship event is the presentation of the European Microfinance Award. This took place at the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 18 November, in close collaboration with e-MFP and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg asbl (InFine.lu). On 17 November, at a ceremony chaired by H.R.H. the Grand Duchess, the award was presented to Banco Fie (Bolivia), in recognition of the efforts made in the field of financial inclusion for women.

The Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs has also begun — through its implementing agency LuxDev and the NGO ADA — to formulate new inclusive finance programmes in its partner countries and has concluded new strategic partnerships in the regions of South-East Asia and central America. Specifically, a new regional partnership has been signed with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), an international network of central banks and financial regulatory institutions, which aims to implement innovative strategies for financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Luxembourg Development Cooperation has also sought to consolidate its commitment to the fintech sector to promote inclusive finance by signing a partnership with the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), with the aim of expanding the scope of its CATAPULT: Inclusion programme.