Project background

People rich and poor everywhere need a diverse range of financial services to run their businesses, build assets and manage risks and emergencies. They need access to such key services as savings, loans, money transfer services and insurance. (Lee versaun Tetum iha ne'e)

Inclusive Finance for Underserved Economy (INFUSE) focuses on increasing access to sustainable financial services by the poor and low-income population, both male and female, taking a sector-wide approach to addressing these issues.

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) helps oversee the implementation of the INFUSE Programme through provision of administrative support and technical expertise.

Project activities

• Develop policy and strategic coordination to enhance the enabling environment
• Facilitate the growth and long-term sustainability of retail financial service providers, to increase their outreach to poor and low-income people
  
• Support the development of a financial business support infrastructure including credit registry, audit, information technology, innovative technology

Project results

• Several rounds of technical assistance to Banco Central of Timor-Leste (NCTL) resulted in a specific regulation for second tier financial institutions below the commercial banks and the development of the corresponding licensing and supervision framework.
• Active support of two Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) in 3-year performance-based agreements, building up their institutional capacity and their financial and social performances. These two institutions combined serve 19,253 low-income clients with credit and savings services. Of those, 91 per cent of borrowers and 99 per cent of savers are women.
• Facilitated a partnership between a registered, local insurance company and the two above MFIs to provide insurance to all their clients, successfully launching the country’s first-ever micro-insurance product.