Ant Financial teams with IFAD for rural economy development
Reducing rural poverty in emerging markets
IFAD and Ant Financial have signed a declaration of intent to explore ways to contribute to economic development in rural areas and the reduction of rural poverty in China and other developing countries.
IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Since 1981, it has supported 29 rural development projects in China, investing over $862 million and reaching approximately 4.4 million rural households.
Areas of proposed collaboration include improving market access for rural producers through e-commerce platforms and value-chain financing for promising rural agribusinesses.
Charlotte Salford, IFAD’s associate vice-president, external relations and governance department, says partnerships with private sector entities (like Ant Financial) are “vital” to reaching IFAD’s objective of eradicating rural poverty.
“By combining Ant Financial’s commitment to promoting digital inclusive finance and IFAD’s vision of every rural family living in dignity, we hope to leverage the power of technology and innovation to improve rural people’s livelihoods,” adds Peng Bo, GM of Ant Financial’s rural finance department.
