also says that, cities outside bangkok are growing at a much faster rate, and some cities such as surat thani have more than doubled its population in ten years. urbanization results in increased purchasing power and fuels domestic demand. more infrastructure investments such as housing, electricity and transportation will be required. this is where the financial sector can contribute and benefit from the development. the trend towards regionalization poses a fourth challenge as well as an opportunity for the banking sector. with the commencement of the aec in 2015, competition will intensify, benefiting those prepared to pursue opportunities across borders. asean as a group has already agreed on its financial integration post - 2015 vision for 2025, and now is in the process of operationalizing it with the milestones and targets to be set in all areas including banking, capital market and, insurance. but this is another topic that i don ’ t think we will have time to cover today. the message that i want to stress is that banks need to plan ahead and invest more to meet these challenges. banks can no longer afford to focus on maximizing short - term returns at the expense of future growth and competitiveness. against this backdrop, you may wonder what ’ s the next milestone of our journey? bearing in mind these challenges, the third financial sector master plan will guide financial developments up to 2020. the milestone for the next stage of our journey, as the title says, is a more competitive, inclusive, connected and sustainable thai banking system. competitiveness, what do we mean when we say we want a more competitive banking system? how can we be more competitive and innovative? if our peers are driving the newest computerized hybrid cars, while we are driving a 10 - yearold car, we will be slower, less safe, and consume more fuel. thus, a possible alternative to keep up with our peers and ensure that traffic flows smoothly is to upgrade our vehicles to the latest reliable technology. likewise, for our banking system to be competitive, each bank should aim to increase its own efficiency. by promoting digitization, both for banks ’ own internal operations and for bis central bankers ’ speeches customers ’ experience, the cost for both parties would be lowered. additionally, we may set up and promote more usage of common utilities such as banknote handling centers or common point of sales ( pos ). from the policy perspective, standards and ecosystem should be developed to ensure compatibility, interoperability, security and confidence. moreover, competition in market

njuguna ndung ’ u : combating structural poverty amongst producers in africa remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch and celebration of solidaridad ’ s achievement of iso 9001 – 2008 certification, nairobi, 20 march 2014. * * * the solidaridad eastern and central africa expertise centre ( secaec ), was officially established in september 2008 in nairobi, kenya with the vision to be a regional leader in combating structural poverty amongst producers in africa and promoting social and environmental sustainability. – this is what i term binding constraints in our economies. its mission is to facilitate the smallholder producers to produce commodities in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner that ensures good market access, improved prices and high incomes for better quality of life. to achieve this, seceac is working in the eastern and central africa region, impacting over 400, 000 smallholder farmers in coffee, tea, livestock, horticulture and food security, cotton, gold and sugarcane. the 2008 world bank ’ s “ agriculture for development report ” recognized the enormous potential of agriculture in offering employment globally. seceac programs in kenya are also aligned to the achievement of vision 2030, which recognizes the agricultural sector as one of the key sectors within the economic pillars for the country ’ s economic growth. it envisages “ a food - secure and prosperous nation ”. regionally, the program targets to achieve six out of the eight millennium development goals targeting reduced poverty and hunger by half by the year 2015 ; promoting gender equality and empowering women through integrating gender issues in their projects, reducing child mortality, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. secaec programs on these value chains are currently valued at 16 million euros, targeting improvement of productivity and quality for better incomes, with the overall objective of improving the livelihood of the smallholder farmers in the region. in achieving its goals and mandate, indirectly secaec are contributing towards the economy of the region through foreign exchange, creation of employment and empowerment of women and youth through programs designed to address gender and youth disparity. within the region and internationally, secaec has established a network of experts and consultants in all the value chains, working with a wide range of collaborators including key government departments. in public private partnership projects ( ppp ), the organization values the role played by both public and private institutions. notable partnership in the region has been with