Ghana Host Africa Remittance Conference

The european uinon in partnership
with Oxfam Novib and International Network for Alternative Financial
Institutions (INAFI) have team up project to foster the linkage between
migration and development in Africa.

According to David Foka, president of the federation des Associations
Africaines du Grand-Duche luxembourg the project will aimed at achieving
financial access for migrants and their families, and to enhance money transfer
competition by providing knowledge, technical assistance and building
partnership.

M,r foka further statedthat , they would partner with immigrant associations
in Europe, Microfinance Institutions (MFI) in Africa and money transfer
operators.

Mrs Soukeyna Ndiaye Ba, Executive Director of INAFI, who made this known at a
two-day conference on remittances to Africa in Accra on Thursday said the
project would train and enable 10 microfinance institutions in 10 sub-Saharan
Africa countries to increase their competitive edge in money transfer service
and other financial driven instruments.

The conference is on the theme: 93Harnessing the Potentials of Migration for
Development: Linking Microfinance Institutions and Immigrant Association."

She said it would enable the MFIs to build partnerships including a
co-development programme with immigrants associations working or residing in
European countries.

She said the objective was to improve the capacity of immigrant associations
based in 10 European Union countries to actively support the development of
their countries of origin and to enable MFI to facilitate their transfer of
migrant remittances in a safe and cheaper manner.

Mrs Ba said it is expected that technical assistance programme would be
provided for MFIs in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries to enable them perform
money transfer worldwide.

"Develop and market remittance based financial products and service and other
investment opportunities targeting potential individual migrants would be
ensured," she added.

She said the project would also identify barriers to entry and competition
among MFIs, develop financial literacy toolkits, and conduct financial literacy
training of trainers for migrant leaders and remittance receivers among other
issues.

It would investigate needs and wants of migrant remittance senders and
receivers and also organise work conference in Ghana by establishing
partnerships between MFIs and money transfer operators.

Mrs Janny Bosscher, Representative of Oxfam, an international NGO said the
discussions have revealed that the problems faced by remittance receivers were
communication and security in receiving the money. from frank obimpeh crystal
hotel tesano Accra