By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Zambia and New Zealand have won this year’s 2nd category of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) awards.
The award focused on the submission of success stories by ICPEN member countries on “Financial Consumer Protection in the Digital Era.”
CCPC Senior Public Relations Office Namukolo Kasumpa said the three nominees under the named category were the CCPC Zambia, Ireland and New Zealand respectively.
Ms Kasumpa said during the competition, CCPC virtually presented on the campaign it conducted among 50 schools through the creation of posters which were targeted towards the rural population, financial service providers and financial sector regulators.
She said the aim of enhancing financial inclusion and capability in the rural areas of Zambia under the Rural Finance Expansion Program (RUFEP).
Ms Kasumpa said the posters distributed conveyed tips of messages on full disclosure of financial services, privacy of consumer financial data, financial consumer redress, use of financial products/services, cybercrimes and cyber security as well as awareness on online transactions.
She said the poster competition and other interventions collectively increased financial consumer awareness especially among rural citizens with evaluations done.
“The award was during the ICPEN annual conference under the Canadian Presidency which was conducted virtually from 23rd to 24th June 2021. This shows increased confidence in Zambia’s initiatives with regards to financial education by members of the ICPEN community,” she said.
The ICPEN awards are held once annually and were introduced during the Zambian Presidency in 2018-2019. The awards are meant to acknowledge and celebrate the different initiatives and interventions by member countries in various areas of interest with regards to consumer protection.
