BoZ wins Prestigious 2026 AFI Financial Inclusion Award
‘BoZ Deputy Governor – Operations, Dr. Francis Chipimo, accepted the 2026 Nestor Espenilla Jr. Financial Inclusion Innovation Award by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) for its outstanding commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to advance financial access award on behalf of the central bank during a ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he was joined by Deputy Governor Ms. Rekha Chifuwe Mhango, Director of Financial Conduct Mr. Joseph Munyoro, and other staff members’
BoZ Deputy Governor Operations Dr. Francis Chipimo (second left).
By Hellen Bwalya
The Bank of Zambia has been awarded the 2026 Nestor Espenilla Jr. Financial Inclusion Innovation Award by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) for its outstanding commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to advance financial access. Deputy Governor – Operations, Dr. Francis Chipimo, accepted the award on behalf of the central bank during a ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he was joined by Deputy Governor Ms. Rekha Chifuwe Mhango, Director of Financial Conduct Mr. Joseph Munyoro, and other staff members.
The award was presented by Mr. Emmanuel Tutuba, Governor of the Bank of Tanzania and the 2025 recipient, after the Bank of Zambia emerged victorious from a field of 17 nominees and five finalists, which included the central banks of El Salvador, Paraguay, Haiti, and Pakistan.
The central bank’s victory stems from several key initiatives, including the launch of three national strategies prioritizing digital financial infrastructure, the rollout of Agent Banking Directives to reach rural areas, and partnerships with government agencies to deploy solar-powered connectivity for mobile money access.
Additionally, the bank introduced a tiered Know Your Customer (KYC) framework that enabled Forcibly Displaced Persons to access formal financial services.
These actions drove significant nationwide impact, increasing formal financial inclusion to 76.4%, narrowing the gender gap to 3.3 percentage points, boosting financial literacy to 46.5%, and doubling overall financial health to 39.1% by 2025. Furthermore, mobile money usage surged to 76.2% with over 12.3 million active wallets by 2024, facilitating more than 4.07 billion digital transactions valued at over USD 283 billion.
The annual accolade honors the memory and legacy of Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, a founding member of the AFI network. This recognition adds to the Bank of Zambia’s growing list of global honors from the organization, having previously earned both the Institutional Leadership Award and the Maya Declaration Commitment Award.
