04/03/2024 – First visit by the Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs to the Maison de la Microfinance

04/03/2024 – First visit by the Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs to the Maison de la Microfinance

On March 4, 2024 the Maison de la Microfinance was honoured to welcome an official visit by the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Xavier Bettel.

Luxembourg, through the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, actively supports the development of inclusive finance as an essential tool to contribute to the reduction of extreme poverty.

At the Maison de la Microfinance, Mr Bettel met with representatives of 10 organisations present in Luxembourg and active in the sector of inclusive finance: Appui au développement autonome (ADA), the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), IforD – Forestry and Climate Change Fund, the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe), the Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), the Microinsurance Network (MiN), microlux, and the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF).

All of the above are among the 37 organisations that make up the membership of InFiNe, which was founded in 2014 to bring together the public, private and civil society actors involved in inclusive finance.

During his intervention the Minister shared his perspectives on the crucial role of inclusive finance as an instrument for Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation.

“As Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, I am convinced that our commitment to inclusive finance resonates with our overarching objective of fostering sustainable development and in fine eradicating extreme poverty. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we cannot rely on public funds alone. On the contrary, we recognize the pivotal role of Official Development Assistance as a catalyst for mobilizing private capital towards achieving the SDGs.”, Mr Bettel said.

Inclusive finance refers to the provision of financial services, such as banking, credit, insurance, and savings, to individuals and businesses that have been excluded from traditional financial systems. Inclusive finance seeks to empower marginalised communities, foster entrepreneurship, and promote economic growth while reducing income inequality.
According to the World Bank, 2.5 billion people around the world remain excluded from financial services. Most are in developing countries– but not all: more than 13 million adult EU citizens still lack access to formal financial services.

This inaugural visit by Minister Bettel and his delegation reflected the long-standing partnership between the Luxembourg government and the inclusive finance ecosystem.

We were honored and proud to show Mr Bettel not only the diversity and richness of the Luxembourg inclusive finance ecosystem, from its stakeholders to the plethora of different instruments to facilitate financial access and empowerment of marginalised, vulnerable communities – but also the deep passion and commitment brought by each individual working behind these organisations.