CAIRO: Princess Máxima of the Netherlands on November 24 will share her vision of and hope for an inclusive financial system in Egypt with students and invited guests at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Princess Máxima will speak in her capacity as United Nations Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. The Princess will be in Egypt as part of her global advocacy to raise awareness and promote universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a wide array of financial services, provided by a diversity of sound and sustainable institutions. Princess Máxima will talk on “the progress Egypt has made recently. There is now opportunity to expand access even more by giving financial services people really need and can afford, making sure that they are delivered in a system that is transparent, well-regulated and protects consumers.” In the speech, Princess Máxima will highlight the importance of access to financial services for poverty alleviation and sustainable development and growth. Households and businesses need safe places to save, insurance, payments as well as loans in order to generate income, build assets, manage cash flow and invest in opportunities. Innovative technologies and partnerships, including mobile phone banking, as well as expansion of products offered by commercial banks and microfinance institutions hold great potential to reach the poor and rural communities presently excluded from the formal financial system. Princess Máxima will also underscore the importance of building a continuum of access to needed and appropriate financial products from individuals to small and medium enterprises. Princess Máxima said she is pleased that she will witness the launch of the draft guidelines for the microfinance industry, by the Head of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority Ziad Bahaa El Din, at the AUC event. While in Egypt, Princess Máxima will speak with diverse stakeholders, including senior government officials, bank and microfinance institution representatives and mobile operators. The Princess will visit small farmers in the delta region in order to discuss the challenges they face in finding a safe place to save the money from sales of their harvests, or obtaining loans and insurance for their crop. Princess Máxima will meet with state and commercial banks to discuss the range of services they offer to farmers, warehouses, merchants and other kinds of small and medium enterprises across the agricultural value chain in Egypt. This will be Princess Máxima's second visit to Egypt. She previously visited the country in 2008 as a member of the UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Finance Sectors.
