with an abundance of resources in terms of land, livestock, labour, skills and ability, as well as public infrastructure and services, their productivity and benefit to society will be suboptimal in the absence of cost - effective access to financial services. financial technology traditionally, the key elements of financial inclusion and access have been anchored on physical presence of institutions ( brick and mortar ), such as the branch that is being opened today ; payments instruments such as cheques and banknotes and coin ; paper statements of account, passbooks and agreements ; as well as personal contact between a customer and a bank official. while these channels and instruments remain relevant and important in many respects, the advent of technology, electronic means of payments, mobile money and other digital platforms offers greater opportunities for more efficient, adaptive and sustainable means for provision of financial services, particularly in the context of low - population density countries, such as botswana. i, therefore, wish to take this opportunity to implore the hukuntsi community to adapt and embrace these new normal in order to enter or retain the financial inclusion status. there are several reasons for this. the first is that the traditional approaches will, over time, likely to disappear due to lack of patronage and support, as the demand and supply of new approaches accelerate and become the new normal. second, digital and mobile banking affords greater convenience for managing and executing payments and concurrent linkages to other services, including instant remittances. for example, the ability to order and pay remotely for plumbing, veterinary and other services in hukuntsi while you are in gaborone ; access account information and pay for utilities while sitting at home or as you travel ( the so called 24 / 7 access ). once you are digitally - connected, it becomes possible to transact everywhere, anytime and subject to adherence to advised protocols, in a safe and secure manner. third, the backbone service infrastructure, including access to government services, utilities and enabling platforms to access and / or purchase basic goods and services are fast becoming electronic and digital. as it has always been, financial inclusion stimulates economic inclusion ; but now the combination includes digital inclusion ( connectivity ). significantly, digital, electronic and mobile phone services transcend the traditional barriers to access and financial inclusion ( that is, distance, physical infrastructure, population density, education and income levels ). in this context, it is true that the future of finance is technology. director of ceremonies, at this juncture, it is

official opening of botswana savings bank limited hukuntsi branch keynote speech by moses d pelaelo governor, bank of botswana november 30, 2020 salutations it is with great pleasure and honour for my delegation and i to be joining the hukuntsi community and the managing director of botswana savings bank ( bsb ) and his staff for the official opening of a branch here in hukuntsi. director of ceremonies, let me mention that i gladly accepted the invitation from the managing director, mr marumuloa, to perform the official opening because of the significance of this occasion to the people of this region, which extends beyond the narrow confines of a bank branch building. first, it is important to acknowledge that, save for the botswana postal services, this is the first permanent physical branch of any bank in hukuntsi and the surrounding matsha villages. hitherto, notwithstanding its population, geographic size, proximity to wildlife conservation areas, importance of cattle farming, as well hosting many government and subdistrict facilities, the entire kgalagadi north constituency had only one bank branch in kang and two atms providing financial services. therefore, the opening of this branch is expected to make a huge beneficial impact to the inhabitants of the area, many of whom have historically had little or no access to formal financial services. second, the opening of a bsb branch in this area within two weeks of that of the palapye one by the minister of finance and economic development, honourable dr thapelo matsheka, is a clear demonstration of commitment and forward - looking business strategy on the part of bsb towards expansion and provision of convenient access to banking services in towns and villages, while meeting commercial objectives. third, the development we are celebrating today is fully aligned and resonates well with the government strategy on financial inclusion. the strategy, making access possible, is designed in recognition that cost - effective access to financial services by all citizens is positive for financial sector development and inclusive economic growth. access to banking and financial services eases the ability to meaningfully pursue economic activities that are desirable for individual welfare enhancement, employment creation, raising living standards, and, hence, sustainable national economic development. as you would be aware, financial inclusion is part of the united nations sustainable development goals number 8 on decent work and economic growth. financial inclusion and value addition director of ceremonies, financial inclusion has, at a minimum, four elements, namely, access to a savings account, credit, insurance,