Indonesia has made significant progress over the past two decades in bringing people into the formal financial system. While expanding access to quality financial services—particularly in remote areas across Indonesia’s vast archipelago—remains a critical priority, these efforts will be most impactful when paired with deliberate action to improve Indonesians’ long-term resilience and financial well-being.
Country Visits
UNSGSA Holds Meetings in Jakarta to Discuss Indonesia’s Progress toward Full Financial Inclusion
In March 2020, the UNSGSA held meetings in Jakarta with leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss Indonesia’s progress toward full financial inclusion. She has visited the country three times before, in 2012, 2016 and 2018, and provided guidance as it has developed and implemented its… Read more
UNSGSA Visits Pakistan to Support Country's Ongoing Financial Inclusion Efforts
The Special Advocate, along with her partners, conducted a country visit to Pakistan in November 2019 to support the country’s ongoing work to increase financial inclusion. The UNSGSA previously visited the country in 2016, shortly after Pakistan launched its first national financial inclusion… Read more
UN Special Advocate Queen Máxima Promotes Financial Inclusion on Visit to Ethiopia
Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), visited Ethiopia on 14-15 May to discuss how the nation could embrace financial inclusion as a priority and help achieve the UN Sustainable Development… Read more
UNSGSA to Visit Jordan to Discuss Access to Financial Services
Her Majesty Queen Máxima will be visiting the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the evening of Sunday 10 to Tuesday 12 February in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. At the end of 2017, under the leadership of the Central Bank of Jordan… Read more
In India, Building on Progress and Providing a Model for Inclusion
India has made tremendous strides in expanding access to financial services, thanks in large part to its robust digital infrastructure. The proportion of adults with a formal account more than doubled between 2011 and 2017, from 35 to 80 percent. Read more
Next Steps for Indonesia on Financial Inclusion
Indonesia has reached a critical junction in its efforts to advance financial inclusion. Since the launch of its national financial inclusion strategy in 2016, the network of agents has expanded rapidly and the government has made significant progress in implementing digital government-to-person… Read more
Queen Máxima Returns to Indonesia to Support Further Advances on Financial Inclusion
Queen Máxima speaking at the UN during her previous visit to Indonesia in 2016.
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), will visit Indonesia to explore progress and… Read more
Accelerating Progress toward Financial Inclusion in Nigeria
The last time the Special Advocate visited Nigeria, in 2012, the country had just launched its national financial inclusion strategy, which laid out a goal of achieving 80 percent financial inclusion by 2020. Since then, Nigeria has made significant progress in a number of areas. Nearly half the… Read more
In Mexico, Eliminating Obstacles to Full Financial Inclusion
Maria Teresa Gaytan Lopez, who met the Special Advocate while opening her first bank account at an OXXO convenience store in Mexico City, with Oscar Osorio Martinez, a regular customer.
Over the past several years, Mexico has taken steps to modernize its… Read more
Building on Progress in Viet Nam
Within just one generation, Viet Nam has undergone an extraordinary transformation from being one of the world’s poorest nations to achieving lower-middle-income status. While financial inclusion has also increased sharply, the majority of Vietnamese still do… Read more
Special Advocate Visiting Viet Nam to Discuss Financial Inclusion
Flag of Viet Nam.
The UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, H.M. Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, will visit Viet Nam from 30 May through 1 June 2017 to explore paths to progress on financial inclusion. Viet… Read more
Argentina Illustrates Need for Access to Finance
The Special Advocate often observes that financial inclusion is a universal issue, one that needs to be addressed in every country. The situation in Argentina illustrates her point with great clarity.
Although Argentina is a middle-income country with the third-largest economy in Latin America,… Read more
