With over 65 million forcibly displaced people, of which almost 21.3 million refugees, the migrant crisis to date is one of the most urgent and compelling realities affecting the world. Conflict continues in several countries in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, which makes it unclear when refugees will be able to return safely to their homes, with some refugees already having been in their host countries for over 10 years. Most refugees have little to no opportunities to enter the economic system due to a lack of available financial services and thus, despite protracted displacement and residence in host countries, are unable to integrate into the economy and society. To bring this to light and work on solutions, NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance, wants to improve capacity for providing financial services to refugees and decided to do its annual conference on the topic of ‘Finance for Refugees’.
The conference brings together the donor and the investor community and provides them a platform to discuss this critical issue and work towards sustainable solutions for refugees.
The conference has 4 main objectives:
- Demonstrating a sense of urgency for private sector to invest: The refugee crisis has created the largest need for humanitarian aid (almost $23.1 billion). To lower the financial burden for donor organisations and host countries, private sector investments are needed. Many refugees stay for over 10 years in the host countries and are facing integration issues. Often because they cannot participate in formal economic systems, a.o. due to a lack of access to financial services.
- Knowledge and expertise exchange: Still limited expertise and knowledge on suitable customer-oriented financial services for refugees is available. Therefore, it is crucial to share experience and combine lessons learned from the donor community and private sector. The magnitude of the crisis requires solutions to be scaled and mainstreamed at a rapid pace.
- Share results of NpM activities on ‘Finance for Refugees’: During the conference we will share (1) a publication presenting an overview of the global activities/context in terms of providing financial services to refugees, (2) results of a 2-day session that brings together the MFIs in Jordan to ascertain their needs with respect to engaging refugees as clients, and (3) the results of an initial diagnostic research in Uganda to create an information base for an effective Technical Assistance programme in the country for the financial inclusion of refugees.
- Networking: The conference will provide a place for networking and forming crucial connections to enable partnerships and/or initiatives.
For more information, visit the Conference website.
The conference brings together the donor and the investor community and provides them a platform to discuss this critical issue and work towards sustainable solutions for refugees.
The conference has 4 main objectives:
For more information, visit the Conference website.