AFI seeks finance services for 50 mln poor by 2012

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a Thailand-based group bringing together 60 countries, aims to take financial services to 50 million people in developing nations by 2012, its director said on Monday.

AFI said an estimated 2.5 billion people, or more than half the world's population, does not have access to savings accounts and other services, excluding them from contributing to growth.

Alfred Hannig said the financial crisis had presented an opportunity to campaigners to create more access to services.

"It will emphasise more the need to mobilise deposits (from the poor) that can cushion for future losses and for future risks," Hannig told Reuters at AFI's first policy forum, which brought together officials from 40 countries in Nairobi.

Hannig said AFI was giving grants worldwide to help recruit new financial sector customers drawn from the rural poor.

"We have two grants in the pipeline and these grants will bring us about 4 million people into the sector in countries such as Indonesia and in Kenya," he said.

Benno Ndulu, governor of the central bank of Tanzania, said mobile phone banking and microfinance institutions would also help towards reaching AFI's goal.