FINANCIAL INCLUSION EXPOSITION 2014 SET TO START

CBSI National Financial Inclusion Manager Caroline Kanoko. Photo credit: Solomon Times.

Preparations for the first ever Financial Inclusion Expo for this year is almost 90 percent complete, confirms the Manager of the National Financial Inclusion Unit at the Central bank of Solomon Islands.

Caroline Kanoko told SIBC News in an interview yesterday, preparations are well under way, with almost 90 percent of participating institutions confirmed for the two day event next week.

She says schools and financial institutions are taking part in the expo.

“We are including schools as well so we’ve sent letters to the schools for the speech and for the quiz and the participating institutions we have 15 that will participate, mostly from the commercial banks, few saving clubs, Our Telekom, Solomon Post, the micro-finance institutions, so all these institutions are all ready.”

She adds, the expo is part of a five year goal set by the Financial Inclusion Task Force to reach 70-thousand Solomon Islanders having access to basic financial services.

“Under the task Force Solomon Islands has set a goal back in 2010 and it’s a five year goal. Their aim is to target 70-thousand Solomon Islanders for them to access to basic financial services. Now out of that main goal there are other, we call them strategies, so with the strategy, one is on financial literacy.”