Caleb M Fundanga: An appeal to the Zambian microfinance industry to offer affordable financial services Opening speech by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Zambia, Lusaka, 7 July 2006. *  *  *  •  The Chairperson;  •  Senior Government Officials present;  •  His Excellencies, member of the diplomatic corps present;  •  Members of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Zambia (AMIZ);  •  Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen  It gives me great pleasure and gratitude to be amongst you this afternoon to officiate at the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Zambia. Mr Chairperson, as you are aware, micro-lenders are credit providers to people with limited or no access to traditional credit sources. It follows therefore that the primary impact of microfinance in Zambia has been the broadening of access to formalised financial services particularly to many people both in urban and peri-urban areas. The microfinance sector in Zambia has grown rapidly in recent years in terms of the number of service providers as well as outreach which is currently estimated at over 60,000 persons.
Before I conclude, allow me to mention one area of concern not only to the microfinance sector, but the entire financial sector in general, and that is money laundering. In the absence of effective cooperation among the various players in the financial sector, there will be no realistic change of defeating or significantly curbing money laundering. It is therefore imperative that the microfinance sector becomes more alert and report suspected cases of money laundering to the Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit for corrective action. Money laundering, if left unchecked can erode the integrity of our financial system. Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion I wish to state that the Bank of Zambia is committed to the development of a robust financial sector in Zambia, and I would therefore like in this particular instance, to call upon the microfinance industry to play its role effectively by expanding its outreach so that more poor people can have access to financial services. I implore you to discuss issues openly and now declare this 8th Annual General Meeting of AMIZ officially opened. Thank you and God bless you. 2  BIS Review 72/2006