October 29 - November 9, 2018

The China-IMF Capacity Development Center (CICDC) opened its first course outside China at the IMF’s Africa Training Institute (ATI) in Mauritius on October 29, 2018. The course, on Financial Development and Financial Inclusion, trained 29 participants from twelve Sub-Saharan African countries on policies to encourage financial development (market-enabling policies) and limit its potentially destabilizing effects (market-harnessing policies), with an emphasis on financial inclusion as an integral dimension of this process.

The CICDC's Beijing-based coordinator, Ling Hui Tan, participated in the opening session of the course alongside ATI Director Abdoul Wane. In her opening remarks, Ms. Tan indicated that the course was part of China’s contribution to IMF capacity development efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa and that the CICDC will be exploring further cooperation opportunities in the region, including with the ATI as well as with other multilateral institutions. She welcomed the course on Financial Development and Financial Inclusion, emphasizing the importance of both outcomes for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa. In this context, Ms. Tan noted that China’s remarkable advances in financial inclusion could provide useful lessons for policymakers in other countries.