Five Years of SoFI

The Mastercard Foundation Symposium on Financial Inclusion, held in Accra in November, 2017, closed a five-year cycle of such Symposia dedicated to “Clients at the Centre.” Since 2013, more than one thousand financial inclusion practitioners and other sector professionals have taken part in the annual meetings. The purpose was to discuss, debate, and promote how financial service providers in developing countries can focus more on the needs and expectations of poor people. The five Symposia saw 140 different guest speakers and panelists, along with innumerable audience members, sharing experiences in financial inclusion and how to advance it.

The Mastercard Foundation has produced this report touching on highlights of the five Symposia as well as key lessons that emerged from them. We hope the findings will help to enrichen the global conversation around Universal Finance Access and how best to achieve it.