The Financial Future We Want: The Sustainable Finance and the Digital World
A webinar series hosted by AgAu.io & TARCO NGO
The issues of poverty and lack of financial inclusion have continued to grow due to the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our World in Data has projected that those living in extreme poverty will reach 500 million by 2030. We, at AgAu.io, believe that the main driver of poverty and inequality are lack of access to quality money, a sound financial system, and the lack of financial means which prevents participation in the economy. To combat these issues, AgAu.io and TARCO NGO want to embody a sense of urgency and act upon given challenges.
On March 9th, at 17:00 (CET) AgAu.io and TARCO NGO are connecting cross-sector experts to initiate the discussion and brainstorm ideas by hosting a webinar series, The Financial Future We Want: The Sustainable Finance and the Digital World.The event will be moderated by Thierry Arys Ruiz, CEO & Founder of AgAu AG and TARCO NGO. We brought together a diverse panel of experts constituted of multilateral institutions, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. Among our speakers are:
· Ekkehard Ernst: Member of STOA International Advisory Board within European Parliament | AI specialist at ILO | President of Geneva Macro Labs
· Vanessa Grellet: Executive Director | Global Partnerships and Alliances | ConsenSys — WEF Global Innovator
· Ralph Chami: Economist | Assistant Director at the Institute for Capacity Development | International Monetary Fund
· Giuseppe Ugazio: Edmond de Rothschild Foundations Chair in Behavioral Philanthropy| Geneva Finance Research Institute
Inequalities will only grow, and the most vulnerable groups are being hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step towards ending poverty and reducing inequalities shall be to establish a solid ground base for the global financial system. According to the OECD Report, current innovations, such as emerging Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT), have the potential to improve current processes and systems by acting as a digital enable.
Easing access to innovations and infrastructure is important for LDCs (Least Developed Countries) to trigger economic growth and development. In the World Economic Forum’s FSIEG White Paper, Eric Jing, entrepreneur, and CEO of Ant Financial Services Group stated that “fintech has great potential. It could revolutionize access to financial services, improve the functioning of the financial system, enhance financial inclusion, and promote economic growth.” Today, without proper investment in innovations and unless there is an improvement in the quality of money, governments cannot achieve sustainable growth strategies.
But the private sector is not the only one interested in making a change. For instance, the G20 Finance Track membership works to put together finance and digitalization. According to Mirage News, during this year’s gathering, experts discussed, among others, the construction and potential impact of new digital platforms, the evolving balance of powers in the relationship between financial service providers and customers, and the implications of financial innovation for the design of regulation, international coordination, and financial stability. According to the BIS in 2019, more than 80% of central banks around the world are exploring their own cryptocurrencies, nearly half of them have started actual research and proof of concepts while 10% have begun developing pilot programs.
There is a clear interest in finding alternatives to the current financial system. Nevertheless, acting and working responsibly is instrumental in ensuring global needs are met and disadvantages of the actual financial system are corrected. By doing so, we would expect to provide an equal playing field by lifting and empowering those who need it the most. In AgAu for SDGs Report, we highlight that through a global network of partners we can achieve great goals and why the current situation regarding the unbanked is a serious problem impeding sustainable growth.
To combat the above-mentioned issues of poverty and lack of financial inclusion, on March 9th, at 17:00 (CET) AgAu.io and TARCO NGO are gathering representatives of the multilateral institutions, NGOs, academia, and private sector within the Webinar Series — The Financial Future We Want: The Sustainable Finance and the Digital World. Register here to hear from cross-sector experts that are determined to redesign the financial system and ensure digital inclusion for all.
