On July 16, 2020, the meeting of the "Experts Group on Financial Inclusion Policy" (EGFIP) of the Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative (FILAC) took place through a virtual meeting. This meeting was supposed to be held physically in Suriname, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took place virtually.

FILAC is the platform for institutions that are members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) to share and support their policies and regulatory frameworks related to financial inclusion development. The topics discussed during this meeting are: MSMEs, Gender and Digital Financial Services.

Mr. Norbert Mumba, Deputy Executive Director of AFI made the opening statement on behalf of AFI. In his opening speech, he emphasized the importance of digital financial services during the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is now in, especially for vulnerable groups such as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and women.

Mr. William Orie, Deputy Governor for Monetary and Economic Affairs, delivered the opening speech on behalf of the Governor of the Central Bank of Suriname. Mr. Orie indicated, among other things, that Suriname was also affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital financial services have also become indispensable for Suriname, in particular for making financial products and services available to the community, in particular residents in remote areas. The Central Bank of Suriname has already taken various steps to improve this and further stimulate it. Cherida Pollack-Hoogvliets of the International Relations Department also shared a PowerPoint presentation on the topic “Suriname's Journey on Financial Inclusion”.

Furthermore, during the meeting, the various Central Banks in the region provided an update on their COVID-19 crisis responses and policy solutions for MSMEs, among others, with a specific focus on digital financial services, SME financing and gender inclusive financing.

On July 17, AFI will provide a Public Private Development Training in collaboration with MasterCard. The aim of this training is to share insights on how to promote digital financial inclusion of MSMEs through technology, education and partnerships.

Photo 1 and 2: Deputy Governor, William Orie during the opening speech.

Photo 3: Cherida Pollack-Hoogvliet (left) and Vanessa D'Costa-Chehin (right) of the International Relations Department participated as well.

CEMLA “Financial-economic Educational Experiment” completed successfully

On Friday, 2^nd of August 2019, the Central Bank of Suriname successfully completed the Financial-economic Education Experiment, which was performed in collaboration with the Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latinoamericanos (CEMLA).

The students of the St. Elisabeth School II, who also participated on the 18^th of July 2019, continued the final part of the experiment together in one group and completed the follow-up survey.

To conclude this experiment, each student received a certificate from the General Secretary of the Bank, Mrs. Faranaaz Hausil.

At the opening of the experiment on the 18^th of July, the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Robert van Trikt gave the students a drawing assignment, with the theme “The Central Bank in the Future”. The purpose of this assignment was to give the children the opportunity to capture the future of money and the Central Bank through a drawing. The prize for the best drawing went to Dimple Yzer, followed by Shanyl Mokhansing (2) and Mariela Armalie (3)

At the closing, the students indicated that they experienced the experiment as good and are looking forward that this program will be repeated.

Photo 1: The students are completing a follow-up survey.

Photo 2: Mrs. Faranaaz Hausil hands over a certificate to one of the students.

Photo 3: All students received a certificate for participation in concluding this experiment. 

Photo 4: Winners from left to right: Dimple Yzer, Shanyl Mokhansing and Mariela Armalie

Also see:

CENTRAL BANK OF SURINAME CONDUCTED CEMLA FINANCIAL-ECONOMIC EDUCATION EXPERIMENT

FINANCIAL LITARACY

 It is necessary for all citizens to make good decisions or choices when it comes to money matters.      

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Young people “Mi Na Gowtu” program visit the Central Bank of Suriname

A number of young people associated with the Center for Communication and Public Relations (CCPR), with the “Mi Na Gowtu” program, visited the Central Bank of Suriname on August 21, 2019. This program, which lasts 1 year, has "Budgeting" as a theme for the month of August. In this context, a group of young people in the age group 12-14 years has visited the Central Bank of Suriname, where a presentation was given about the Government Budget. The young people were given a presentation at the counter of the Cashier department. This to give them a picture of the procedure that the banknotes undergo before they reach the public. Finally, they visited the Numismatic Museum, where they were given a presentation about the development and origin of money in Suriname from 1667 till now.

Picture 1:
The youngsters are listening carefully to the instructions.

Picture 2: Group picture in front of the Central Bank building

In the interactive presentation, held by Mr. Albert Mungroo from the Research department, it is stated briefly that Suriname as a country also has a budget and must make decisions on how to spend it. It is also indicated how the budget is drawn up and which institutes are responsible for this. Finally, the functions of the Central Bank were highlighted as well. A few assignments have been given to these young people to test if the presentation is understood well.

Picture 3:
An explanation was given about the “separation of powers” ; the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial.

Picture 4: The youngsters receive a tour in the Numismatic Museum

Picture 5: The young people at the Cashier department