initiatives of mfis. may this year ’ s conference bring fresh insights and renewed zeal to help the poorest and most vulnerable through digital innovations. in closing, allow me to cite a passage from the book of philippians that, like hebrews 13, speaks of dedication and selflessness : “ do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ” may we all continue to embrace our financial inclusion mission. for in doing so, we can bring a message of hope and help others live with dignity and purpose, especially in these trying times. thank you and stay safe. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

benjamin e diokno : supporting the digitalization of microfinance institutions speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the 29th append ( alliance of philippine partners for enterprise development ) leadership conference, 10 november 2021. * * * good day to the leaders and client - members of the alliance of philippine partners for enterprise development or append, led by president and ceo virginia juan and chairman angel de leon, jr. greetings as well to the host of the 29th append leadership conference, tulay sa pag - unlad, incorporated. thank you for inviting the bangko sentral ng pilipinas to take part in this important event. we are always delighted to engage with the microfinance community, our chief partners in promoting financial inclusion in the countryside. the microfinance community is no stranger to servant leadership. from officers taking voluntary pay cuts to members distributing relief goods to the needy, your collective response has served as an outstanding example of leadership through crisis. we commend append particularly for its food cart for nanays program, which provides seed capital to poor families affected by the pandemic. this is a worthy undertaking in its aim to help filipinos regain dignity of work. our gains in financial inclusion clearly owe much to your dedication to serve the country ’ s unbanked and the underserved. microfinance non - governmental organizations or mf - ngos remain the major sources of formal credit and drivers of account penetration among the rural population and the country ’ s poorest. moreover, microfinance institutions or mfis are helping us propel digitalization, with 96 % of mfis citing digital payments as a primary initiative followed by 72 % citing mobile app or online platform launching. we are glad that append has taken the digital leap forward with appendpay to help clients and mfis participate in the digital finance ecosystem. as a registered operator of payment system, appendpay can serve as a model for digital adoption in the industry. however, we also know these efforts come at a cost. we are thus working to further ensure mfis are equally placed alongside big industry players and well - positioned to advance financial inclusion beyond the pandemic. under our digital payments transformation roadmap, we envision 70 % of filipino adults will own a transaction account and at least 50 % of payment transactions