Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2005 : Microcredit Summit Measures Progress
Microcredit Summit Measures Progress As It Enters Final Year of Campaign
Since 1997, when the Microcredit Summit announced a global campaign to offer credit for self-employment and other financial services to 100 million of the world’s poorest families by 2005, steady progress has been made. Based on the most recent figures, for the end of 2003, the gains so far look like this:
- 2,931 microcredit institutions reported reaching 80,868,343 clients, including 54.8 million among the world’s poorest when they took their first loans. 45.2 million of these clients — 82.5% — are women.
- Assuming five persons per family, the 54.8 million poorest clients affected 274 million family members — the equivalent of the combined populations of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Sweden.
Writing in the report, Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, a member of the GFUSA board, and Fazle Abed, founder of BRAC (a Bangladeshi-based MFI), said they are “extremely hopeful” about a new U.S. law requiring that half of all U.S. foreign aid funding for microlending go to the poorest people. “By all logic of foreign assistance, this is the right thing to do,” they said. “Consequently, we are mystified by the resistance to these efforts by many economists and development specialists.
Addressing the effectiveness of microcredit, Yunus and Abed wrote: “Does microcredit work for everyone? No. Is it a panacea? No. Is it the most powerful tool we have identified so far to help large numbers of the very poor — those living below $1 a day — rise above poverty with dignity? Absolutely!” You can view the full report at www.microcreditsummit.org
Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2005 : Microcredit Summit Measures Progress
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
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