MBABANE – Eswatini has secured a bigger voice in shaping Africa’s financial inclusion agenda.
This follows the appointment of Central Bank Governor Dr Phil Mnisi as Chairman of the African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI).
Mnisi’s appointment was announced yesterday during the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, giving Eswatini an important platform to influence financial inclusion policy discussions across the continent.
The chairmanship places Dr Mnisi at the helm of an initiative bringing together AFI’s African member institutions, as policymakers across the continent grapple with rapidly changing financial systems, expanding digital finance, cross-border payments, cybersecurity threats and the need to ensure that financial inclusion translates into improved livelihoods.
The governor takes over the leadership of AfPI from the Bank of Ghana, and immediately convened his first AfPI Leaders’ Roundtable in his new capacity.
Dr Mnisi acknowledged the work undertaken by his predecessor, Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, Second Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu, Dr Alfred Hannig and the AFI team during the previous year.
He said the 2026 AFI Global Policy Forum theme, “Resilient Economies, Inclusive Future,” presented an opportunity for policymakers to consider how financial systems could become more inclusive, resilient and capable of delivering meaningful economic impact.
One of the key initiatives highlighted by Dr Mnisi was the Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Peer Learning Initiative (CISPLI), which seeks to strengthen Africa’s response to growing cybersecurity risks associated with the digitalisation of financial services.
According to the Governor, AfPI recognised that although digital financial services were creating significant opportunities, they were also exposing financial systems to new vulnerabilities.
Through CISPLI, member institutions established a task team of experts which conducted regional research, assessed existing capabilities and gaps, engaged with partners and developed a roadmap for implementation.
The work resulted in a Regional Mapping Report on Cybersecurity Information-Sharing and Peer Learning, produced in July 2026, while the African Financial Sector Cybersecurity Excellence Centre (AFICEC) was announced in Luanda, Angola.
Mnisi said the initiative had progressed from debating the need for such an intervention to determining how it could be implemented.
He said the next phase would consider AFICEC’s roadmap, governance and hosting arrangements, including expressions of interest from member institutions willing to host and participate in the initiative.
The new AfPI chairmanship also comes as the initiative reviews its charter to ensure that it remains relevant to the changing financial landscape.
Dr Mnisi said AfPI’s policy focus had evolved over the past decade, moving beyond access to financial services to encompass usage, impact, financial health and resilience.
He said emerging developments such as digital financial services, instant payments, fintech, cross-border innovation and new forms of risk were increasingly becoming central to financial inclusion policy.
As chairman, Dr Mnisi said his focus would be on maintaining AfPI as a strong, member-led platform that remained responsive to emerging issues while ensuring that resources were used effectively.
He also emphasised the importance of partnerships where collaboration could add value, while maintaining the initiative’s African identity and character.
The AfPI Leaders’ Roundtable considered findings from the 2026 AFI Member Needs Assessment, which is intended to provide a clearer understanding of the priorities of member institutions, emerging pressures and the support required from AfPI.
Dr Mnisi said AfPI’s future work needed to remain directly relevant to its members, with greater emphasis on impact and implementation and a willingness to adapt where necessary.
Looking ahead, the governor said Africa’s financial systems would continue evolving, with digital finance and cross-border payments expected to expand while cyber risks also increased.
He said financial inclusion would increasingly be assessed not merely by access to financial services, but by its impact on resilience, livelihoods and financial wellbeing.
Sustainability, he added, would have to remain a central consideration—not only in maintaining sustainable financial systems, but also in ensuring that initiatives, partnerships and solutions established through AfPI could deliver lasting results.
Dr Mnisi identified three key outcomes he hoped would emerge from the discussions: clarity on the future direction of AFICEC, an AfPI Charter that was fit for the future, and a clear understanding of what member institutions required from the initiative.
Deputy Governor leads gender finance talks
MBABANE – Eswatini’s participation at the global forum extends beyond the Governor’s new AfPI leadership role.
Central Bank Deputy Governor Felicia Dlamini, who is a member of AFI’s Gender Inclusive Finance Committee, led the committee’s engagements at the forum.
She chaired the Gender Inclusive Finance Leaders’ Breakfast and Committee Meeting and presented the committee’s annual report to the AFI Board.
The discussions focused on improving data to inform policy, mentoring women leaders within regulatory institutions and securing sustainable support for AFI’s gender-inclusive finance programme.
Central Bank technical officials are also participating in AFI working groups covering SME finance, consumer empowerment and market conduct, digital financial services, financial inclusion data and inclusive green finance.
These working groups are expected to develop practical policy guidance and establish peer-learning and implementation priorities for the coming year.
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