njuguna ndung ’ u : the africa mobile phone financial services policy initiative ( ampi ) opening remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the inaugural african roundtable meeting to launch the “ africa mobile phone financial services policy initiative ( ampi ) ”, co - hosted by the bank of tanzania, alliance for financial inclusion ( afi ) and central bank of kenya, zanzibar, tanzania, 14 – 15 february 2013. * * * professor benno ndulu, governor, bank of tanzania ; alfred hannig, executive director, alliance for financial inclusion ; professor mwangi kimenyi, director, african growth initiative, brookings institution ; distinguished guests and colleagues ; ladies and gentlemen : on behalf of the co - hosts, bank of tanzania, alliance for financial inclusion ( afi ) and central bank of kenya, it is my honour to extend a warm welcome to all of you to zanzibar, tanzania to participate in the “ inaugural leaders roundtable meeting to launch the africa mobile phone financial services policy initiative ( ampi ). ” it is indeed encouraging to note that the efforts by all the pertinent players to make this launch a success are being realized today. the fact that you have all graced this occasion demonstrates our commitment as afi members and the passion we have to move financial inclusion to higher levels in our continent and the entire world. i take this opportunity, therefore, to applaud you for your unending passion towards this initiative. ladies and gentlemen, as you may recall, the idea to have a focused regional initiative on mobile phone financial services ( mfs ) platform in africa, was initiated right here in zanzibar during the first african financial inclusion policy forum held in march 2012. this was following discussions held at brookings institution, washington d. c, on the importance of spurring mfs in africa and after a critical analysis of the hurdles that limit the scaling up of mfs in africa. it was further emphasised during the 4th annual afi global policy forum ( gpf ), held in cape town, south africa in september 2012 where we, the african afi members, agreed to organize this inaugural african leaders ’ roundtable meeting. as afi members, our major objective is to extend financial inclusion to the continent ’ s large unbanked populace. we recognise that there is significant potential in the development of mobile phone financial services in africa to accomplish this. ampi, therefore

##sable instrument for preventing moral hazard behaviour by the member states. with that in mind, issuing blank cheques would definitely be the wrong course of action. yet, emu is our common destiny. if any kind of help for a member state were necessary in the improbable case of an extreme emergency, the clear conditionality of such support would be essential in order to comply with the treaty. as regards recent speculation about a potential emu split - off, i am convinced that – apart from the absence of any legal framework for this – it would make no sense economically for any member state to use an exit option. this is due to the huge costs that such an exit would entail. metaphorically speaking, as ecb president trichet correctly put it, “ in stormy seas it ’ s better to be on a large ship than in a small boat ”. having said that, it is no wonder that many of those in small boats are currently seeking to dock to the large ship. to achieve this, it has never been more evident than now that full compliance with the convergence criteria of the maastricht treaty is absolutely indispensable with respect to any emu enlargement. concluding remarks ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude. central banks around the world are trying to mitigate the negative impact of the financial crisis in cooperation with other national and international institutions. with regard to the eurosystem, it should have become clear that we will do all that is necessary and possible to restore financial and economic stability in the euro area. ten years after its introduction, the euro is facing its greatest challenge. i firmly believe, however, that it will do fine. thank you for attention.