Furthermore, in 2009, the Government approved the extension to the initial five-years of the FSDP in order to continue the national strategy of strengthening our financial sector and enhancing financial inclusion. The second phase of the FSDP will focus on three main pillars namely: (i) enhancing market infrastructure; (ii) increasing competition; and (iii) increasing access to finance. Overall, the vision is to have a dynamic and inclusive financial sector that supports all aspects of the economy. Therefore, the theme for this workshop and exhibition “Enhancing Financial Access for Women: A Tool for Poverty Reduction” is timely and appropriate. Our aim is to recognise and heighten awareness of women’s issues within this context. More specifically, the main objective of this forum is to showcase a variety of financial services and products available and sensitize the general public on: (i)  how financial institutions are contributing to increasing gender financing in Zambia;  (ii)  bringing awareness to the women on the opportunities that are available for them to access finance and mitigate related challenges;  (iii)  the role of the Bank of Zambia and other financial institutions in meeting the objective of financial inclusion;  (iv)  how the United Nations as the lead international organisation and other local agencies are supporting women in Zambia; and  (v)  sharing experiences in running businesses, and the opportunities and challenges in accessing finance in order to grow the income base.
The analysis of the latest statistical data points to a further decline in the annual inflation rate, which followed a lower-than-forecasted path and ran below the lower bound of the variation band of the flat target, due to the steeper drop in volatile prices and to the increasingly weak inflation on external markets, overlapping the lingering negative output gap and the ongoing downward adjustment in inflation expectations. In December 2014, the year-on-year inflation rate stood at 0.8%, while the average annual inflation rate stuck to 1.1% and the annual average inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices – which is relevant for assessing convergence with the European Union – came in at 1.4%, the same as in the previous month. The fall in the inflation rate allowed for successive policy rate cuts (to an all-time low of 2.25% in February 2015) and for interbank rates to decline markedly to record lows, amid favourable liquidity conditions in the money market. In August 2014, the NBR resumed the rate cutting cycle so that in February 2015 the monetary policy rate ran at 2.25% versus 5.25% in June 2013. Moreover, January through November 2014, the NBR gradually lowered the minimum reserve requirement ratios. Thus, at present the minimum reserve requirement ratio on leu-denominated liabilities of credit institutions is 10% (from 15% at end2013) and that on foreign currency-denominated liabilities is 14% (from 20% in December 2013).