F4D Partner Forum 2026

Welcome to the 2026 Finance for Development (F4D) Partner Forum, taking place June 11–12 in Bern, Switzerland. This year's forum convenes under the theme Towards Scalable Solutions - a call to move toward approaches that can be replicated and scaled across contexts to address pressing financial sector challenges. Over two days, development partners will come together to 1 review F4D's evolution and progress, 2 share solutions that could be replicated or scaled up, and 3 define future strategic directions for F4D.

F4D Partner Forum Presentation Materials

2026 Partner Forum DAY 1 Presentation

For all the presentation slides used during Day 1, click the link below

Download Presentation

File Size: 325 MB

Forum Format

Two-day Hybrid Meeting

DAY 1 will feature technical sessions about emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities across a few selected priority areas (including financial sector stability, digital finance/ inclusion). Sessions should present (i) trends, challenges, opportunities, best practices in EMDEs; (ii) related outcomes/lessons learned through some existing F4D grants. Also showing when relevant how F4D grants help to complement or to leverage other instruments.

Interactive formats will be used during the sessions to facilitate discussions. WB management to lead/ moderate some sessions, but some to be moderated or joined by volunteer F4D partners (see hints within the draft agenda). Speakers will include a wide variety of stakeholders (public sector, private sector, central banks, donors etc.). For country cases, we invite TTLs and/or country officials (mostly on a virtual base). External guests/observers are welcome (Day 1).

DAY 2 is focused on the Partnership Council, starting with a discussion on F4D’s evolution and progress (using findings from Mid-Term Review), followed by a roundtable discussion reflecting donors’ priorities and exchanges on the program’s path forward. This will involve discussions on F4D’s complementarity with other TFs/programs, the need to better serve some countries, and the implementation of the new Knowledge WBG model.

Partner Forum Agenda

JUNE 11, THURSDAY
8:00AM	Breakfast and registration
9:00AM	WB Opening Remarks & Scene-setting (15min)	Sophie Sirtaine, Global Director, Financial Services Sector, World Bank Group
9:15AM	SECO High Official Opening Remarks (15min)	Philipp Orga, Head of Operations, Economic Cooperation and Development, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
9:30AM	SESSION 1: Financial Sector Stability (1.5h) This session will discuss the evolution of macro-finance risk exposure in EMDEs, best practices (regulation & supervision, bank resolution, deposit guarantee, crisis simulation, crisis management), including complementarity with IMF. The session will feature F4D projects in Ghana, Sri Lanka and Kosovo.	Presenters Saskia de Vries, Manager, Manager, Financial System Resilience & Integrity, World Bank Vahe Vardanyan, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Tatsiana Kliatskova, Senior Financial Sector Economist, World Bank Panel Discussion (Moderator: Saskia de Vries) Andy Sturm, Head of Liquidity Provision and Support, Swiss National Bank Elliot Amoako, Head of Resolution, Bank of Ghana Volker Frost, Vice President EMEA, Metrohm AG Carlos Vicente, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
11:00AM	Coffee Break (30min)
11:30AM	SESSION 2: MSME Finance (1h) This session will discuss the new landscape of digital finance innovations, the need to strengthen enabling environment and crowd-in funding for these innovations, and opportunities to leverage World Bank lending operations. A Kyrgyz MSME finance (scaling access to investment finance) and TReDS (supporting deepening of SCF) will be featured.	Presenters Ajai Nair, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Sundeep Mohindru, CEO, M1Exchange, India (virtual) Panel Discussion (Moderator: Harish Natarajan) Sundeep Mohindru, CEO, M1Exchange, India (virtual) Francesca Brown, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Women’s World Banking (virtual) Tobi Amira, Head, Business Loans, Moniepoint (virtual)
12:30PM	Lunch (1 hour)
13:30PM	SESSION 3: Fintech & Digital Finance to Support Inclusion This session will discuss: Fast Payments and Open Finance (scalable solutions to enhance usage of DFS and inclusion); Digital Assets and AI (next frontiers with potential to accelerate financial inclusion) and; Risks and Safeguards. The session will feature the FASTT program (fast payments) and a project in Peru (open finance).	Presenters Harish Natarajan, Manager, Financial Inclusion, World Bank Holti Banka, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Nabil Badr, Director, Banking Supervision, Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco Panel Discussion (Moderator: Harish Natarajan) Ariadne Plaitakis, Deputy Director, Inclusive Financial Nikhil Ray, BCC Program Manager, Geneva Graduate Institute Ledia Bregu, Director, Payment Systems, Albania Michael Eganza, Director, Banking & Payment Services, Central Bank of Kenya
15:00PM	Coffee Break (30min)
15:30PM	Pitch Sessions Three pitch sessions will be brought together in a speed dating format designed to make connections between project teams and current/potential development partners. The session opens with three back-to-back pitch presentations (10 mins each). Donors will then rotate across the thematic tables in timed intervals of 15 minutes each, ensuring every team has the opportunity to engage with the full group of donors. The group will convene into plenary, and each session lead will share the summary of their discussion (5 mins each). Financial Sector Integrity: A range of FCI activities to fight illicit financial flows Reducing Gender Finance Gap: How to scale up and meet the WBG goal on women’s financial inclusion AgriFinance: AgriConnect and the need and opportunity to scale agriculture finance and insurance	Moderator: Loic Chiquier, Senior Adviser, Financial Services Sector, World Bank Financial Sector Integrity Emile Van Der Does De Willebois, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Ariadne Plaitakis, Deputy Director, Inclusive Financial Systems, Gates Foundation Reducing Gender Finance Gap Sheirin Iravantchi, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank (virtual) AgriFinance Ajai Nair, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
17:00PM	Day 1 Closing Remarks	Sophie Sirtaine, Global Director, Financial Services Sector, World Bank Group
19:00PM	Welcome cocktail + Dinner Galerie des Alpes Restaurant, Federal Palace (Bundesplatz 3, 3003 Bern, Switzerland)
JUNE 12, FRIDAY
8:30AM	Breakfast and Registration
9:00AM	F4D Partnership Council (PC members only) F4D portfolio overview and growth, funding evolution Lessons from the completed midterm review, reactions and recommendations from partners	Sophie Sirtaine, Global Director, Financial Services Sector, World Bank Group (Chair) Loic Chiquier, Senior Adviser and Acting Program Manager, Financial Services Sector, World Bank (F4D overview) Paul Davies, MTR Lead, BDO (MTR) Sara Okada, Senior M&E Specialist, World Bank (MTR) All donors
10:45AM	Coffee Break (30min)
11:15AM	F4D Partnership Council: Donor Roundtable (PC members only) Roundtable with partners (evolving priorities, constraints, and opportunities) about F4D’s vision New areas of strategic importance Global knowledge vs. regional implementation (how to operate the WBG Knowledge model) Complementarity with other WB/FCI TFs Preferred countries vs anchor funding (other countries) Any other business (including program management)	Sophie Sirtaine, Global Director, Financial Services Sector, World Bank Group (Chair) Loic Chiquier, Senior Adviser and Acting Program Manager, Financial Services Sector, World Bank All donors
13:00PM	Farewell Lunch

Virtual Connection

June 11

Main session (9:00-18:00):

Please use this link to join the event online:

F4D Forum | Microsoft Teams meeting

Join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/353227258300199?p=HAr7CJkIKchM1G5fJU

Meeting ID: 353 227 258 300 199

Passcode: C5Js7YM7

Pitch sessions (15:30–17:30):

There will be a plenary session followed by three parallel sessions.

Online participants: You can join the plenary and the parallel sessions via separate MS Teams links below.

Plenary | Microsoft Teams meeting

Join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/353227258300199?p=HAr7CJkIKchM1G5fJU

Meeting ID: 353 227 258 300 199

Passcode: C5Js7YM7

Each parallel pitch session has its own link. Please join the session you are interested in:

1. Financial Sector Integrity | Microsoft Teams meeting

Join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/381458248612687?p=C74E9vPM9DOK3s1xpC

Meeting ID: 381 458 248 612 687

Passcode: Cq6zS62M

2. Reducing Gender Finance Gap | Microsoft Teams meeting

Join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/334858301983694?p=tH0jmsAfIwI5uLVOTa

Meeting ID: 334 858 301 983 694

Passcode: cV7Gp3h6

3. Agri Connect | Microsoft Teams meeting

Join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/333999824841117?p=niZP2p2tJzv7hwZ5Sz

Meeting ID: 333 999 824 841 117

Passcode: kV9Ze7Mh

You are welcome to switch between sessions at any time by leaving one meeting link and joining another.

The links will also be shared in the chat of the main event meeting before the pitch sessions begin.

June 12

Partnership Council (9:00-13:00)

This is an invitation-only meeting. Participants will receive a virtual meeting link separately.

Travel & Logistics

F4D 2026 Partners Forum Logistics Note

Download PDF

Venue

Day 1 • June 11 (Thursday), 2026

The Bernerhof

Bundesgasse 3
Switzerland - 3003 Bern
Phone: +41 (0)58 462 21 11

Day 2 • June 12 (Friday), 2026

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

Holzikofenweg 36
3003 Bern, Switzerland

Travel + Accommodations

Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements and payment.

Below are some alternative hotel options.