Dutch Queen roots for financial inclusion
QUEEN Máxima of the Netherlands has urged the government to fully embrace financial inclusion to enable Tanzanians to easily access social services.
The visiting Dutch monarch said there was more for the government to do as the number of Tanzanians, who are financially included, currently stand at 53 per cent.
“The benefits attributed to financial inclusion include improving the welfare of poor households by allowing them to grasp more opportunities and get access to social services,” observed the Queen of the Netherlands, while wrapping up her visit to Charlotte Hospital at Sanya Juu area, Siha District yesterday.
The monarch who is in the country as the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, commended the health workers at the facility in implementing the MomCare programme, further emphasizing that financial inclusion programs are widely seen as an important tool in the quest to alleviate poverty and empower women.
“Financial inclusion seeks to unlock economic opportunities and improve lives by providing everyone with the prerequisite financial tools,” said the monarch who is on her third visit to the country.
Her assertions come as Tanzania is currently drafting its third National Financial Inclusion Framework on access to digital financial services for all citizens.
The National Financial Inclusion Framework 2018 – 2022 is the second framework to be implemented under the Financial Inclusion National Council, building up the first Framework, which ended in December 2016.
Key achievements under the completed Framework include the increase of the percentage of adults who access formal financial services from 58 per cent in 2013 to 65 per cent in 2017, as well as a reduction of adults solely reliant on informal financial services from 16 per cent to seven per cent in the same period.
Nonetheless, Tanzania was by 2021 home to around 60 million, with women accounting for nearly 60 per cent.
Earlier in the day, the Dutch Queen visited local farmers at Makoa area in Hai District under the Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE Africa) project.
During her tour, the Royal rubbed shoulders with the farmers as they took her through the digital insurance product which helps farmers mitigate the impact of extreme weather on their finances.
“I’m very happy to be here to witness the financial impact of the innovative product,” she said.
Queen Máxima, the wife of King Willem-Alexander, who is known for her love of bright and colourful outfits and extravagant looks, arrived at the Kilimanjaro international Airport (KIA) on Monday evening. She appeared elegant as ever in a chic all-black ensemble.
Queen arrived in Dar es Salaam late yesterday where she was expected to meet vendors and mobile banking services agents at Makumbusho market. The meeting will dwell on digital finance services.
She is also due to meet and hold talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Central Bank Governor Florens Luoga, among others.
Maxima too will speak with members of the Generation Equality Forum, in a meeting centred around providing equal opportunities for financial services access in Tanzania.
It comes following Maxima and her husband’s recent trip to Sweden.
On her last day of the trip to the European nation last week, the royal and King Willem-Alexander took turns taking control of the vehicles while at the Volvo Trucks Experience in Gothenburg.
