On March 4, vice prime minister Xavier Bettel made his first visit to Maison de la Microfinance in his role as minister for development cooperation and humanitarian affairs.
According to the World Bank, 2.5 billion people around the world remain excluded from financial services and more than 13 million adult EU citizens still lack access to formal financial services. Maison de la Microfinance and its representatives are actively pushing for the development of inclusive finance to lower these numbers.
“As minister for development cooperation and humanitarian affairs, I am convinced that our commitment to inclusive finance resonates with our overarching objective of fostering sustainable development and in fine eradicating extreme poverty.”
Xavier Bettel, vice prime minister and minister for development cooperation and humanitarian affairs
At the Maison de la Microfinance, Mr Bettel met with representatives of 10 organisations present in Luxembourg and active in the sector of inclusive finance including the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (INFiNe) and the Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), among others.
During his intervention, the Minister shared his perspectives on the crucial role of inclusive finance as an instrument for Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation.
“To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we cannot rely on public funds alone. On the contrary, we recognize the pivotal role of Official Development Assistance as a catalyst for mobilizing private capital towards achieving the SDGs,” Mr. Bettel added.
Inclusive finance refers to the provision of financial services, such as banking, credit, insurance, and savings, to individuals and businesses that have been excluded from traditional financial systems.
