Following the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2017, new informal financial service providers have emerged, such as, village banks and savings groups in both the rural and urban areas. As both formal and informal financial service providers are agents of financial inclusion it is important for us, the regulators, to seek effective ways of linking the two types of players with a view to reducing informality as we expand financial inclusion. Distinguished Guests, in recognition of the importance of formal financial inclusion in supporting economic growth, the Bank of Zambia is collaborating with SaveNet, to 1  KEYNOTE SPEECH BY DR DENNY KALYALYA, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ZAMBIA AT THE 2019 WORLD SAVINGS DAY EVENT ON 31ST OCTOBER 2019 AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, LUSAKA  develop channels to link informal savings groups to formal financial services providers. According to SaveNet data, at the end of 2018 there were 15,700 savings groups in Zambia, with cumulative savings amounting to K53.1 million. This points to a good opportunity for the formal financial service providers to mobilise deposits. In this regard, it has been observed that a number of regulated financial service providers and mobile money operators have already started designing products aimed at tapping into this market. It is hoped that this move will expedite the transition of informal groupings into the formal financial sector and enable more people gain access to a wider range of quality and affordable financial services.

I want to stress here, as one of our colleagues noted last year’s commemoration that financial service providers have to provide the products and services that the people want and not what providers think they want. Distinguished Guests, recognising that financial exclusion is more prevalent in rural areas, the Bank of Zambia has adopted various initiatives to improve rural financial inclusion in line with the national Rural Finance Policy and Strategy of 2012. These initiatives include: 1. leveraging digital financial services for general financial transactions; and 2. facilitating expansion of general services access points network of health, education, and agricultural organisations into financial access points through partnership and Government support. In line with this year’s World Savings Day theme: ‘Be Money Smart: Savings Give Life a Lift!’, I urge members of the public to select and demand appropriate formal financial products for their key life events, such as, births, education and health, and to be aware of the obligations and responsibilities associated with the products. I encourage financial service providers to take time to explain clearly and simply the terms and conditions of financial products so that consumers can understand their rights and obligations. 2  KEYNOTE SPEECH BY DR DENNY KALYALYA, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ZAMBIA AT THE 2019 WORLD SAVINGS DAY EVENT ON 31ST OCTOBER 2019 AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, LUSAKA  Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, may I take this opportunity to congratulate all the individuals and institutions that will receive Financial Literacy Awards for making a difference in the Financial Literacy Campaigns nation-wide.