MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade Donates $13m to Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Canberra-based government agency responsible for Australia’s international relations, trade and development assistance programs, reportedly will fund a three-year program with AUD 14.15 million (USD 13.13 million) to support the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP).

PFIP is an initiative of the United Nations, which aims to assist “disadvantaged households”[1] with access to financial services in the Pacific region. The funding provided by the Australian government is intended to “bring more people into the financial sector and raise financial competency in the region”[1].

Through all of its programs PFIP seeks to “add one million Pacific islanders to the formal financial sector by 2019”[1] by facilitating access to financial services, providing support to financial education, backing the economic empowerment of women and promoting relevant policy initiatives. Between 2009 and 2014, PFIP reached approximately 600,000 Pacific Islanders, 50 percent of whom are women.

The Australian government and PFIP have been in a partnership since 2009. Other financial supporters of PFIP include the European Union, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the New Zealand Aid Program.

By Alíz Crowley, Research Associate

About Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP) is a United Nations initiative that was established in 2008. It attempts to extend financial services to unbanked Pacific islanders by funding and otherwise partnering with microfinance institutions (MFIs) that deliver financial services to poor Pacific islanders who may have had limited or no access to banks. The mission of PFIP is to increase the number of Pacific islanders who have ongoing access to affordable financial services and relevant education by 1 million by 2019. As of 2014, PFIP works in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu. PFIP partners include the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID), the ACP/EU [African, Caribbean and the Pacific/European Union] Microfinance Program, the government of the republic of Timor Leste, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United Nations Development Program Pacific Center, the United Nations Development Program Timor Leste and the New Zealand Aid Program (NZAID).

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] The Jet: Australia Supports Financial Inclusion in the Pacific

MicroCapital, September 12, 2013, Bank of Papua New Guinea, Pacific Financial Inclusion Program, Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion to Extend Financial Inclusion to 1.6m People in Papua New Guinea by 2015

MicroCapital, August 16, 2013, Fiji’s National Financial Inclusion Taskforce (NFIT), Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP) Make Progress Towards 2014 Goal of Financial Inclusion for 150k Unbanked Citizens

MicroCapital, June 8, 2010, The United Nation’s Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP) Releases “Fiji Financial Services Sector Assessment” Calling for Expansion of Microfinance Sector, Especially Through the Development of Accessible Savings Services

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Pacific Financial Inclusion Program

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