H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival on 13 November 2019.
The annual event, which is the largest fintech festival in the world, regularly attracts numerous key public and private sector leaders. Last year, it convened more than 45,000 participants from 130 countries.
With the theme of the festival’s day being inclusive finance and diversity, the UNSGSA plans to focus on how financial technology (fintech) can be harnessed to help provide access to quality financial services for the unbanked and underserved groups—especially the poor, women, rural and micro-, small, or medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The impact of financial inclusion can transform lives. Affordable, effective, and safe financial services can play a powerful role in fostering equitable growth and furthering development goals such as poverty reduction, job growth, gender equality, and food security.
The Special Advocate will also hold discussions with various representatives to explore their role in improving access to and quality usage of financial services. This includes Bank of International Settlements (BIS) General Manager Agustín Carstens, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Heng Swee Keat, Governor Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Patrick Ngugi Njoroge, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon, as well as a range of leaders from central banks and innovative financial service providers.
Although Queen Máxima did not attend the 2018 Singapore Fintech Festival in person, she shared a video message about regulatory tools to help tackle fintech’s challenges and unleash its potential.
The UNSGSA previously participated and delivered a speech at the 2017 Singapore Fintech Festival, and her remarks on inclusive technology for an inclusive future can be viewed here.