MASERU — Lesotho Post Bank will host the 16th World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) Africa regional meeting next week.
The four-day meeting which begins on Tuesday will be held under the theme Transformation of African Savings Banks: Building on core assets to enlarge customer base.
In a statement to the press this week, Lesotho Post Bank said it was expecting delegates from at least 31 countries from the Africa region.
The bank said the chapter for the Africa regional group meeting will be chaired by Lesotho Post Bank chief executive Mpho Vumbukani.
The statement said the conference will provide a platform to exchange views on issues such as responsible banking activities, micro financing, challenge of financial inclusion and innovation.
Lesotho Post Bank said the conference will help them finetune some ideas on how to facilitate micro lending.
The bank began offering micro loans in January this year.
“Some WSBI members in East and West Africa have been in the micro finance industry longer than Lesotho.
“Thus, members will share experiences and challenges facing the microfinance industry from which new entrants will learn,” said the bank.
WSBI is an international non-profit banking association based in Belgium.
It represents the savings and retail banks within their respective member states.
The organisation was founded in 1924 and represents over 1 000 financial intermediaries in 90 countries.
Thirty-one of these are in Africa.
Lesotho Post Bank said it had benefited much from being a member of the WSBI by accessing information on how “banking the active poor”.
“In addition WSBI with financial assistance from different sources, supports members with capacity building and financing of capital projects that support banking the unbanked,” said the bank.
