Over 9,000 people, 73% of whom women, have so far received training under the Financial Education on Digital Financial Services in Tunisia project, it emerges from data presented Friday in Tunis at a closing workshop of the project in Tunis.
The project is piloted by the Observatory for Financial Inclusion (French: OIF) and implemented by the Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research (French: CAWTAR).
It contributed to creating a national network of 25 ambassadors, men and women, of financial inclusion tasked with disseminating knowledge and good practices. A free of charge financial education platform was also built.
The project, put in motion in 2022, fits within the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) Financial Inclusion in Tunisia project. The latter is implemented in collaboration with the Finance Ministry.
The Financial Education on Digital Financial Services in Tunisia project, which targets low-income women in rural and peri-urban areas, is intended to foster an “accessible,” “inclusive” and “fair” financial culture in Tunisia.
The project, part and parcel of the National Financial Education Programme 2023/27 initiated by the OIF, was developed to provide more opportunities for women so that they can gain access to knowledge and support tools in financial literacy and education .
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// Draft law on financial inclusion shortly submitted to ARP//
Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (French: BCT) Marouane Abassi said the lack of financial inclusion in Tunisia is regrettable. Over 60% of Tunisian households lack access to financial services.
“Hence, the need to put in place mechanisms so as to increase digital inclusion of Tunisians, notably through financial education,” he added.
Ambassadors of financial inclusion play a key role in raising public awarenss, particularly in rural areas, about the importance of digital financial services, such as the online wallet launched by the Ministry of communication Technologies.
The BCT Governor also said the financial inclusion bill will be shortly brought to the floor at the Assembly of People’s Representatives.
GIZ representative in Tunisia Jacqueline Groth said, while referring to the findings of a study conducted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2022, the rate of access to banking is of 54% in rural and peri-urban areas and 63% across the country.
Tunisia boasts several assets to boost its financial inclusion, mainly Internet and mobile telephony penetration and a very dynamic FinTech ecoystem.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will support a new phase of the project which starts next year, Jacqueline Groth further said.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse