The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa's (COMESA) Business Council (CBC) and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) partnered to promote digital financial inclusion in the region with special focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration aims further at validating the COMESA digital integrated common payment policy and framework for SMEs. 'The public-private dialogue brought together nine pilot-study countries, central bank governors, Ministers of Finance, Information Communication Technology regulators, manufacturers, mobile network operators, commercial banks and MSMEs to consider and validate the COMESA Digital Integrated Common Payment Policy and Framework for SMEs. During the dialogue, deliberations attached great importance to partnerships, regulatory dialogue and consumer protection as key success factors for the digital financial inclusion of SMEs,' said COMESA.