Jossiana Peter is an Australia Awards Vanuatu alumna who recently graduated with a Master of Banking and Finance from Macquarie University, Australia. In her newly appointed role as the Supervisor for Financial Assets within the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC), Jossiana is providing innovative financial solutions.
The role of Supervisor within the Commission entails overseeing the development and implementation of strategies to optimise the management of virtual assets. Conducting thorough assessments of emerging technologies, evaluating risks, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and fostering collaboration across departments to streamline processes and drive innovation are all part of Jossiana’s daily work.
Specialising in Fintech during her Master studies, a transformative tool making financial services more accessible, affordable and user-friendly through a digital platform, Jossiana always wanted to venture into a specialised field within the finance industry and was always looking for that niche area to undertake further studies. After being exposed to Fintech technology whilst working for the Financial Inclusion Unit at the Reserve Bank, Jossiana was inspired to undertake a Master of Banking and Finance through Australia Awards. Jossiana explains ‘although new to Vanuatu, there were already companies providing Fintech services which begs the need for specialised people; with that, I did some research and decided on this course‘.
According to 2017 data from the Global Findex Database published by the World Bank, women are still less likely than men to own an account at financial institutions, and while the percentage of women owning an account in Asia and the Pacific increased from 2014 to 2017, the gender gap persists. Fintech is considered to play a role in bridging this gender gap and can increase the formalisation of women’s financial transactions, protect and educate them against fraud and unfair transactions and empower them as agents of their own financial futures.
Jossiana highly commends Australia Awards for providing her with an avenue to access the necessary knowledge and skills required to enhance her career trajectory, further explaining ‘indirectly, this also benefits my family and community. Australia Awards exposed me to a network of professionals that are not only supportive, but seeing them excel in their respective fields motivates each of us to also do our best in our respective roles‘.