PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko attends EFSE’s Annual Meeting and Advisory Group

On 17-18 May 2017, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, attended the Annual and Advisory Group meetings of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) in Split, Croatia.

This year marked EFSE's 10^th annual meeting. On this occasion, a conference was organised on 'Enabling financial inclusion, start-ups and entrepreneurship'. Participants included central bank governors and senior officials, representatives from the European Fund for Southeast Europe, leading banking and microfinance industry executives, and entrepreneurship and media representatives.

The motto of this year was a natural extension of the focus of the Fund on small businesses, job creation and economic growth of the country of the region.

The EFSE Advisory Group Meeting is an annual event where EFSE managers, central bank governors and other representatives of related institutions, discuss the future activity of the Fund.

Governor Sejko, focusing on the role played by the Bank of Albania on education and promotion of financial literacy, said that the Bank of Albania has been very active in developing educational activities and teaching materials, targeting different age groups.

In order to strengthen the link between the institutions involved in financial education of the general public and of youth in particular, the Bank of Albania has signed two Memoranda of Understanding: with the Ministry of Education and Sports; and, with the Albanian Association of Banks.

The Governor assessed that the promotion and coordination of activities between the various stakeholders involved in financial education in Albania will foster mutual cooperation in the organisation of financial education initiatives, which remains a priority for the Bank of Albania.

The Governor also underlined the importance of technological developments, especially in terms of increasing financial inclusion. Promoting innovation in technology, he said, is has become increasingly important, since it not only contributes directly to the fast growth of the economy but also serves as a driver for financial education on a broader scale.

In conclusion, the Governor said that the Bank of Albania is and will remain in the future, fully devoted to these important missions for the generations to come.

About the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) aims to foster economic development and prosperity in the Southeast Europe region and the European Eastern Neighbourhood Region, which includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The EFSE provides long-term financing, primarily for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and for private households in the form of home improvement loans, via local partner lending institutions. The EFSE was created by KfW Entwicklungsbank (German Development Bank) on 15 December 2005 from four multi-donor programmes under its management. The Fund is the first public-private partnership of its kind and the first privately managed fund in development finance to leverage private funding for MSE finance in the target region.