The FAO Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Helpdesk is a gateway to FAO's knowledge, tools and expertise for assisting Members and other actors, implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve the 17 SDGs through the transformation of our global agrifood systems. Explore the platform to understand how FAO supports Member to Accelerate SDG progress through knowledge and information; how we empower our partners to Champion SDGs on the ground and Transform our agrifood systems through innovative action.
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Highlights
Linking agrifood SMEs to finance and innovation for sustainable agrifood systems – Fintech for smallholder financial inclusion
Date 27 January 2026, 15:00
Presenters:
- Niclas Benni, Rural Finance Specialist, Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, FAO
- Panos Loukos, Director of Financial Inclusion, The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA)
- Yiannis Theodorou, Senior Advisor and Global Lead (Digital ID), Tony Blair Institute
This lecture will explore how financial technologies (fintech) can advance the financial inclusion of marginalized smallholders, with a particular focus on rural youth and women. It will introduce key concepts and challenges related to the use of fintech in rural contexts and will feature digital farmer registries as a key case study, presenting select examples, including DigiFarm (Kenya), MyBank (China) and Pula (Sub-Saharan Africa). Insights will be shared by leading experts from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and the Tony Blair Institute on the use of digital farmer registries to improve access to financial services for small-scale farmers and underrepresented groups.
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Publication
FAO and the Sustainable Development Goals
Achieving the 2030 Agenda through empowerment of local communities
e-Learning
The 2030 Agenda Follow-Up and Review
This course series is designed to equip learners with the essential knowledge and skills needed to support preparations of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for the High-level Political Forum (HLPF).