The Citi Network Strengthening Program will attempt to achieve these goals by doing comprehensive assessments of the trade associations’ capacity to meet its members’ needs. In addition, it will conduct in-depth reports on the microfinance industry in the respective country or region. Finally, the program will include business, strategic, and implementation plans that may consist of new technologies, advocating interest rate liberalization, establishing rating agencies, creating local debt and equity ratings funds, and developing links between the commercial and microfinance sectors.
The 12 participating trade associations represent roughly 60 countries, 1,300 microfinance organization members and microfinance institutions (MFIs), and 19 million clients. Of these 12 trade associations, 7 are already members of the SEEP Network. The trade associations by region are as follows:
* Asia Pacific: Banking With the Poor Network, China Association for Microfinance, Microfinance Council of the Philippines, India’s Sa-Dhan, and Pakistan Microfinance Network * Africa: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda * Americas: Mexico’s ProDesarrollo, Ecuador’s Red Financiera Rural, and Central America’s REDCAMIF * Europe: Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe & New Independent States, and Russian Microfinance Center * Middle East: Sanabel The SEEP Network is an international organization with the goal of connecting microenterprise practitioners via a global learning community. The group focuses on developing best practice standards in enterprise development and financial services. It consists of 67 members in over 140 countries, reaching over 23 million clients.
The Citi Foundation is the grant-making arm of international financial conglomerate Citigroup and focuses its grants on microfinance and microentrepreneurship. The Citi Foundation has contributed nearly USD 60 million in funding for 250 MFIs, trade associations, and microenterprise programs in 55 countries. Citigroup also has Citi Microfinance, a business unit focused on commercial activities and introducing new products to MFIs. Citi Microfinance has worked with over 70 MFIs in over 35 countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
To learn more about this author, visit David Satterthwaite's Website.
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David Satterthwaite
(Visit David's Website)
David brings 10 years of experience in
microfinance management, social
entrepreneurship, non-profit
management/fund-raising and microfinance
investment research.
David is the Chairman and President of
Prisma Microfinance, Inc., a retail
“microbank” operating in Central America.
He is also Chief Editor of
MicroCapital.org, a news and information
service for the microfinance community and
its investors. Each month,
MicroCapital.org publishes the
MicroCapital Monitor, the leading industry
newspaper.
David writes and speaks frequently on
microfinance. He has been a quest speaker
at many events, including: Microcredit
Summit 5+: Panel on Private Investment,
Milken Institute Global Conference, United
Nations Year of Microcredit Symposium for
Wall Street, Chicago Conference on
Microfinance, Harvard Social Enterprise
Conference, Dartmouth’s Business
Sustainability Conference, Wharton’s
Conference on Social Entrepreneurship,
Stanford’s Social Enterprise Club,
Columbia’s Social Enterprise Program and
the Net Impact Annual Conference. Through
his work with Prisma and MicroCapital, he
has been featured or quoted in The Wall
Street Journal, the Boston Globe, “All
Things Considered,” Reuters and
SocialFunds.com. David has been
recognized with the Compaq Computer
Corporation Leadership Award, the City
Year Inspiring Leader Award and the
National Social Venture Business Plan
Competition award for Best Social Impact
Analysis.
David has supported many non-profit and
for-profit social enterprises in different
capacities, including Access Technology
Learning Center, Agora Partnerships,
Bridges to Business, City Year, Fonkoze,
Kiva and National Social Venture
Competition.
David holds a B.A. with Honors in
Political Science from Haverford College.
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