August 21st, 2024 - 2024 China-Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Summit (CADFIS) was held jointly by the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), Chinese Academy of Financial Inclusion (CAFI) and Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong Univarsity (SAIF) in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Wu Zhong, Director General of FCSSC made opening speech on behalf of the organizers and Dr. Liu Qianqian, Deputy Director General of FCSSC hosted the opening ceremony.
With the theme “Sustainable Investment for Stronger Climate Action, Digital Financial Inclusion for Great Equity”, the summit this year focused on the topics such as “Addressing the Climate Crisis through Sustainable Investment and China-Africa cooperation", “Digital Inclusive Finance: Fostering Greater Equity", "Establishing long-term mechanism and partnership between China and Africa in the field of digital financial inclusion and sustainable energy", “How will China-Africa Cooperation on Digital Financial Inclusion Reshape the Business with a Digital Engine?” and “How to leverage Digital Financial Inclusion to Promote Youth development and leadership?" and launched heat discussion.
In the opening remarks, Dr. Wu emphasized that sustainable finance is a key to achieving sustainable development goals. By engaging more enterprises and investors in the low-carbon transition andto invest in green development in developing countries, we can not only address climate change but also promote sustainable development in these regions.
Director General of Xinhua Agency Africa Regional Bureau Mr. Qiang Ying, General Manager of Kenya Investment Authority Mr. Pius Rotich, Dr. Bei Duoguang, President of CAFI, Dr. Min Ji, Director of the Counselor’s Office, People’s Bank of China, Mr. Qiang Shan, President of National Internet Finance Association of China, and representatives from World Resources Institute, African Development Bank and UNICEF delivered leading keynote speeches insuccession. Experts and representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), AGRA, Huawei Technologies Kenya Office, Hero EE | Hithium, Ahadi Corporation and Vanguard Advisory LLP also attended the event.
In addition, the summit has promoted the conclusion of Memorandum of Understanding of“China-Africa Renewable Energy Sustainable Investment Partnership", as well as the launching of "Afro-Asia Fintech Association". Both of them mark the new progress the summit has achieved in China-Africa cooperation in sustainable investment and fintech development.
The world is currently facing numerous problems and challenges, which no single country can solve in isolation. The 2024 China-Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Summit aims to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa, foster new partnerships between institutions in two regions and Global South, explore diversified sustainable investment opportunities, and focus on the huge potential of financial inclusion and sustainable investment to help combat climate change, achieve social inclusion and intergenerational equity.
