The sixth meeting of the Informal Philanthropy Forum focused on addressing the challenges of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kosovo regarding access to financial services.
Meeting highlights:
For the first time: CSOs and the Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, along with the banking sector and other public institutions, met to discuss the challenges and opportunities in creating an enabling environment for CSOs’ access to financial services.
Challenges of CSOs: The Executive Director of KCSF, Taulant Hoxha, emphasized the gradual but positive development of relations between CSOs, the Central Bank of Kosovo, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Kosovo, and the banking sector over the years, as well as the current challenges that CSOs encounter with regard to the access to financial services, starting with the misunderstanding that prevails in the banking sector around CSOs, the difficulties in opening bank accounts and updating their information, the high monthly cost of maintaining bank accounts, and the limited opportunities for other financial services that would enable the development of the non-governmental sector.
Commitment of the Central Bank: Governor Ahmet Ismaili underlined the Central Bank of Kosovo’s commitment to financial inclusion and outlined the plans for regulatory reform that the CBK has in place to support financial inclusion generally, including attending to CSO requests.
Legal Framework: The discussions focused on the Draft Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, the Draft Law on Payment Services, the Draft Law on Banks, which in the previous discussions of the Forum have been identified as key points for creating an enabling environment for the development of philanthropy in Kosovo and opportunities for CSOs to diversify funding sources through fundraising from donation campaigns, online/website donations, etc.
Support from USAID: The USAID mission in Kosovo’s Director of Democratization and Governance, Noel Bauer, highlighted USAID’s dedication to empowering civil society and promoting philanthropy as essential components of long-term CSO development and beneficial community impact.
Following the meeting, the CBK, CSOs, the banking industry, and other public institutions pledged to maintain cross-sectoral collaboration and provide CSOs with opportunities to obtain financial services that support sustainable development.
The Informal Philanthropy Forum, held within the framework of the Citizen Engagement Activity, aims to foster dialogue and cooperation among stakeholders to enable a supportive environment for philanthropy in Kosovo.
