Luanda — The private credit information centres play a crucial role in providing credit, financial inclusion and improving the business environment in the country, said Tuesday the minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Media, Mário Oliveira.
According to the minister, the access to financial services depends, to a large extent, on the availability of digital information to related institutions, such as companies, particularly micro, small and medium-sized companies and individuals.
Speaking at the opening of the II High Level Seminar on Private Credit Information Centres, Mário Oliveira, defended greater vigilance in digital financial services, taking into account the substantial increase in frauds in this virtual field.
Therefore, the minister said, the Data Protection Agency (APD) and the Credit Risk Information Centre (CIRC) should contribute to the development of Angolan society, transmitting trust and quality, as well as the incorporation of the most disadvantaged sections of society into the national financial system.
On the occasion, the director of the "Bereau" of the Private Credit Information Centre, Julay Morais, explained that this is a database with the aim of assessing the quality of Angolan citizens, whether or not they are good payers.
Morais stressed the role of the centre in providing information to financial institutions in order for them to carry out an effective analysis of credit processes.
In his turn, Óscar Madeddu, a report consultant and risk analyst with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said that World Bank figures in Africa indicate that African economies grant few loans, with the most being at just 12 percent.
Banks and other financial institutions have little information about small and medium-sized enterprises and so cannot assess the risks, so the institutions prefer to reject credit applications.
Over two days, technicians from the National Bank of Angola, commercial banks, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Private Credit Information Centre are discussing issues related to the advances and challenges of the Data Protection Agency (DPA).
