to investments. mdbs have actively supported countries on this front, in efforts to formalise project selection and approval processes, revenue models and concessions, and to encourage harmonisation of ppp standards in the region. at our inaugural summit in 2009, we announced that the world bank - singapore urban hub partnership has been established to leverage singapore ’ s experiences to help developing bis central bankers ’ speeches countries structure commercially viable infrastructure projects. this was followed by the setup of the infrastructure finance centre of excellence ( ifcoe ), which carries out capacity building and technical assistance to increase the success of ppp in the region. last month, ie singapore and the asian development bank jointly launched a ppp initiative that will work with regional governments to structure infrastructure projects, and also explore using capital markets to finance these projects. enhancing project development expertise besides improving ppp processes and public sector expertise, we also need to enhance the human capital in the private sector. there is already a growing base of professional services in singapore with practices in infrastructure development, financing and public - private partnerships in asia. singapore could explore whether there is a need to help companies develop their project development talent pool, so they can harness opportunities in the regional infrastructure space. this could be done by supporting on - the - job training to accelerate talent development through more project experience, and creating specialised programmes to train talent to be equipped with knowledge across the project development process – from business development, to ppp structuring, to financing. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by outlining again three key priorities in increasing and broadening private sector participation in infrastructure development – first, to catalyse private sector involvement in project financing ; second, to enhance delivery of projects for better financial viability ; third, to build up capabilities in both public and private sectors. these are necessary to help countries achieve their economic growth targets in an equitable manner, resulting in job creation and other positive social outcomes. the real economy, financial sector and public sector players all have complementary roles to play. conferences such as this are an excellent opportunity to bring together stakeholders in order to foster the exchange of ideas. on that note, i wish you all fruitful discussions today. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches

patrick njoroge : agile regulation for digital transformation remarks by dr patrick njoroge, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the “ agile regulation for digital transformation ( a. reg4dt ) ” webinar, 22 september 2021. * * * excellencies, ladies and gentlemen : good morning, good afternoon! i am pleased to join you at the agile regulation for digital transformation ( a. reg4dt ) webinar. let me at the outset, express my gratitude to the world bank and its partners in this initiative for the invite. while on the one hand, the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic has upended lives and livelihoods, on the other hand, it has fostered digital transformation at an unprecedented scale. as digitalization has transformed delivery of services for businesses, governments and changed our way of life, regulators have been assessing the resultant opportunities and risks. the a. reg4dt initiative is opportune to develop the capacity of regulators in africa as digitalization transforms every facet of our lives. indeed the world has changed dramatically from 2007, when mobile phone money transfer services were introduced in kenya to meet basic financial needs of transferring money from urban workers to their rural families. subsequently, mobile phones laid the digital rails, that have seen the transformation of financial inclusion not just in kenya but across africa. shortly thereafter, was the global financial crisis from 2007, in the advanced economies, predicated on excessive risk taking and the trend at that time of deregulation. africa was largely spared the direct effects of this crisis given its relatively limited linkages to global financial markets at that time. the focus immediately after the crisis was the strengthening of the global banking sector through enhancing capital and liquidity buffers, risk management and an overhaul of corporate governance practices. one of the spillover effects of the global financial crisis was the emergence of decentralized finance ( de - fi ). the promoters of de - fi sought to leverage on the loss of trust in governments and financial institutions particularly in advanced economies. this saw the emergence of cryptocurrencies, headlined by bitcoin, positioned as alternative payment instruments. this later morphed to stablecoins and more recently, there has been the growing discussion on central bank digital currencies ( cbdcs ). recently, cryptocurrencies have morphed into more of wealth management instruments and less of payment instruments. amidst these developments in the global financial arena