In the third week of February 2005, The Netherlands' Princess Maxima, ING Netherlands Chairman Diederik Laman Trip and Triodos Bank Senior Fund Manager Marilou van Golstein Brouwers visited Africa to promote the International Year of Microcredit and the importance of microfinance in the global fight to eradicate poverty.
As Advisors for the Year, Princess Maxima, Mr. Laman Trip and Ms. van Golstein Brouwers met with local entrepreneurs in Kenya and Uganda and learned how they benefited from microfinance services. They were joined by the Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Agnes van Ardenne, and Stein Albregt, Chairman of the Dutch Platform of Micro Finance. The group met officials from the ministries of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, as well as representatives of local microfinance institutions.
In Kenya, the Advisors met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Dr. Andrew Mullei, to discuss policies to increase access to financial services by poor and low income people. In the context of this meeting, Dr. Mullei announced that Kenya is concerned with improving the financing of microenterprises in rural areas. To address this issue, Kenya is reforming its financial sector and amending a series of laws, including two relating to monetary policy and modernizing the National Payments and Settlements System. The Advisors' visit also highlighted the importance and urgency of the Microfinance Bill which is currently being prepared for presentation to Parliament, and covers the supervision and regulation of deposit-taking institutions. The group also visited Kenyan microfinance providers Equity Bank Limited, Jitegemea Credit Scheme, and K-Rep Bank.
According to Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima, "With all of the initiatives underway, Kenya is poised to develop a truly inclusive financial sector that will work to achieve poverty alleviation."
In Uganda, the Advisors met with Central Bank officials to learn about their successes and difficulties in implementing state-of-the-art microfinance regulation. In addition, the group met with representatives from 30 microfinance institutions, ranging from organizations which only provide credit, to more developed institutions that have converted into banks, and including Centenary Rural Development Bank, Uganda Women's Finance Trust, Finca Uganda and the Uganda Microfinance Union. Discussion centered on the obstacles to growth and how to reach the 90% of the population that is still unbanked and lives mostly in rural areas. The Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation organized a seminar and invited most of the players in the microfinance sector, as well as politicians. The need for a liberalized financial sector was stressed in order to achieve competitive, client-oriented financial institutions. Other issues addressed during the visit included obstacles to good entrepreneurship development, above all for women. Overall, the group felt that the microfinance industry in Uganda is developing well.
International Year of Microcredit Advisors define the objectives of the International Year of Microcredit in its goal of promoting microfinance and entrepreneurship.
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United Nations Capital Development Fund
(Visit United Nations's Website)
The United Nations Capital Development
Fund (UNCDF) is a UN organization mandated
by the UN General Assembly and its
Executive Board to provide capital
assistance first and foremost to the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs). UNCDF invests
in LDCs in order to support their efforts
to reduce poverty and achieve the
Millennium Development Goals, especially
in its two main product lines - Micro
finance and Local Development. UNCDF is
part of the UNDP-group and hosts the UN
Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial
Sectors.
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