Financial services help low-income earners: UN

THE United Nation says access to financial services for low-income earners will help to reduce poverty, enabling people to take control of their economic lives.
Gianluca Rampolla, UN regional coordinator, said this during the launch of the Mama-Bank access point rollout pilot project in Port Moresby last week.
“I am very proud to witness this important day for the future of financial inclusion in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region,” he said.
“A region that is still one of the least-banked in the world.
“A new innovative solution is about to be piloted here that will make it easier for rural dwellers to access and use financial services, and especially for women.”
Rampolla said the UN believed that innovative solutions, such as the one launched, were critical to create solutions that added value for Papua New Guineans who are most affected by development challenges.
He said when people are included in the financial system, they were better able to climb out of poverty by investing in business or education.
“When the sustainable development goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015, financial inclusion was recognised and embedded in the agreement, not as one of the 17 goals itself, but as a powerful enabler for development progress,” Rampolla said.
“Financial inclusion helps create the conditions that ultimately bring many of the SDGs within reach.”