4 Apr 2022
At the Global Disability Summit (GDS) 2025 in Berlin on 2nd – 3rd April, Barrier-Free Finance Initiative (BFFI), e-MFP, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Grameen Foundation and the World Food Programme (WFP) announced their joint commitment.
Access to formal financial services is a key driver of economic inclusion and financial security, yet despite significant advances in financial inclusion, persons with disabilities remain disproportionately financially excluded.
At the Global Disability Summit (GDS) 2025 in Berlin on 2nd – 3rd April, Barrier-Free Finance Initiative (BFFI), e-MFP, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Grameen Foundation and the World Food Programme (WFP) announced their joint commitment to take actions to address this issue.
This is the first time a group of inclusive finance stakeholders have made a joint commitment to advance the financial inclusion of persons with disabilities through the global GDS mechanism, making a powerful statement of our intent to create a more inclusive financial ecosystem.
Our commitment outlines specific actions we will take individually and in collaboration over the next three years to embed the inclusion of people with disabilities in our own programs and activities, and to engage with organisations of persons with disabilities and inclusive finance stakeholders to drive systemic change.
About the GDS Commitments
The Global Disability Summit (GDS) was created in 2017 to convene global, regional, and national stakeholders to close the gap between disability inclusion and development cooperation. GDS is an ongoing movement for advocacy and mobilisation, as well as convening a conference every three years.
The GDS Commitments Mechanism provides a structured framework to drive action and accountability to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Organisations register their commitment to take concrete actions to advance implementation of the UNCRPD, and provide annual progress reports against their committed actions, which are consolidated and presented at the GDS Summits. To see all the GDS Commitments follow this link to register for access to the GDS Commitments portal.
Our Joint Commitment
We recognise that:
Access to formal financial services is a proven enabler of economic inclusion and financial security, enhancing individual agency and empowerment. Persons with disabilities worldwide nevertheless face barriers to accessing financial services, and remain disproportionately excluded from financial systems.
Fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities to equal access to financial services is integral to the goal of financial inclusion and the implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), empowering persons with disabilities to make independent financial decisions, build security for themselves and their families, and contribute to the economic development of their communities.
Financial inclusion of persons with disabilities remains an under-recognised topic, with limited awareness and engagement from actors in the financial inclusion sector. Enhancing awareness and expanding the knowledge base are crucial steps to ensuring access and effective use of formal financial services by persons with disabilities.
Achieving this goal requires engagement and collaboration between civil society, private and public actors in the inclusive finance and disability inclusion sectors.
We commit to promote and advance equitable access and beneficial use of financial services by persons with disabilities individually and in collaboration with other stakeholders, by:
Creating and implementing solutions for inclusion of persons with disabilities in our related organisational programs in collaboration with financial services providers and regulatory authorities;
Awareness-raising and advocacy alongside organisations of persons with disabilities;
Producing evidence and disaggregated data on access to financial services for persons with disabilities;
Sharing knowledge, experience and lessons learned.
Each of the six partner organisations to the commitment has made individual commitments to specific actions and initiatives to advance these goals.
Reminder webinar: Disability Inclusive Financial Services: A New Frontier for Inclusive Finance, 10 April
e-MFP and the Barrier-Free Finance Initiative (BFFI) are excited to invite you to a unique panel discussion on "Disability Inclusive Financial Services: A New Frontier for Inclusive Finance."