Ghana Host Africa Remittance Conference

The european uinon in partnership

with Oxfam Novib and International Network for Alternative Financial

Institutions (INAFI) have team up project to foster the linkage between

migration and development in Africa.

According to David Foka, president of the federation des Associations

Africaines du Grand-Duche luxembourg the project will aimed at achieving

financial access for migrants and their families, and to enhance money transfer

competition by providing knowledge, technical assistance and building

partnership.

M,r foka further statedthat , they would partner with immigrant associations

in Europe, Microfinance Institutions (MFI) in Africa and money transfer

operators.

Mrs Soukeyna Ndiaye Ba, Executive Director of INAFI, who made this known at a

two-day conference on remittances to Africa in Accra on Thursday said the

project would train and enable 10 microfinance institutions in 10 sub-Saharan

Africa countries to increase their competitive edge in money transfer service

and other financial driven instruments.

The conference is on the theme: 93Harnessing the Potentials of Migration for

Development: Linking Microfinance Institutions and Immigrant Association."

She said it would enable the MFIs to build partnerships including a

co-development programme with immigrants associations working or residing in

European countries.

She said the objective was to improve the capacity of immigrant associations

based in 10 European Union countries to actively support the development of

their countries of origin and to enable MFI to facilitate their transfer of

migrant remittances in a safe and cheaper manner.

Mrs Ba said it is expected that technical assistance programme would be

provided for MFIs in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries to enable them perform

money transfer worldwide.

"Develop and market remittance based financial products and service and other

investment opportunities targeting potential individual migrants would be

ensured," she added.

She said the project would also identify barriers to entry and competition

among MFIs, develop financial literacy toolkits, and conduct financial literacy

training of trainers for migrant leaders and remittance receivers among other

issues.

It would investigate needs and wants of migrant remittance senders and

receivers and also organise work conference in Ghana by establishing

partnerships between MFIs and money transfer operators.

Mrs Janny Bosscher, Representative of Oxfam, an international NGO said the

discussions have revealed that the problems faced by remittance receivers were

communication and security in receiving the money. from frank obimpeh crystal

hotel tesano Accra