Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A), in partnership with Economists from the World Bank, is pleased to present a webinar titled ''Interest Rate Caps in Africa: The Theory and the Practice''. The webinar will take stock of recent developments in interest rates caps globally and classifies them according to a novel taxonomy. The session will also present African case studies and alternative measures to reduce the cost of credit. Register now!

MFW4A in collaboration with the IFC, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ/GIZ), CGAP, the Better than Cash Alliance at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the World Bank held its ninth annual Responsible Finance Forum (RFF), in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This first-ever edition in Africa gathered together leading investors, policymakers and practitioners to assess critical challenges in financial services in Africa. Read more.

Participants in this high-level meeting will take stock of ongoing reforms and identify priority actions which will form the basis of a roadmap for financial sector development initiatives within ECOWAS. This dialogue will identify financial and non-financial instruments with catalytic effects on the real economy of member-countries. Read more on the agenda.

This 2017 Annual Report presents MFW4A’s activities in the third and last year of the Partnership’s Phase III strategy (2015 – 2017). In April 2017, the Supervisory Committee approved a revised MFW4A Charter, and the 2018-2020 Strategic Plan. Under the new structure, African financial sector stakeholders (AFS) will now play a more formal role in the Partnership’s governance and decision making, beyond the advisory role they have always played. The report highlights the MFW4A's 2017 main achievements in its thematic priorities. Read more.

MFW4A hosted a two (2) day workshop on “Closing the Trade Finance Gap for African SMEs” in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 19-20 June, 2018. The event brought together local banks, other financial institutions, and development partners to identify and investigate the barriers to bank-intermediated trade finance in Africa, with a focus on the specific challenges and solutions for small and medium sized enterprises. Read more.

With the aim of collecting insights and perspectives related to the high interest rate cost of housing across the continent, Making Finance Work for Africa and the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) organized a webinar, entitled "Lowering the high interest rate cost of housing finance in Africa," on 21 June, 2018. Read more about the report.

Making Finance Work for Africa, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Planet Guarantee, University of Kent and Oklahoma State University presented a webinar, entitled "Enhancing Access to Index-Based Weather Insurance: A New Marketing Approach in Burkina Faso," on 27 June, 2018. Based on the findings of studies conducted in Burkina Faso and Ghana, the webinar provided an overview of the state of the index-based weather insurance in the West African region, and explored the challenges facing agriculture insurance uptake across the continent. Read more about the report.