Governor of the State of Yucatan presents the 17th Microcredit Summit
(PRWEB) August 28, 2014 -- The Governor of Yucatán, Rolando Zapata Bello, presented the 17th Microcredit Summit at a press conference; this event is organized by the Microcredit Summit Campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Economy through the National Microenterprise Financing Program (PRONAFIM) and will take place from September 2nd to the 5th at the Convention Center Yucatan Siglo XXI in the city of Merida.
“It is a great responsibility for Yucatan to host the 17th Microcredit Summit logistically but especially in creating a setting in which the work carried out at the conference reflects national and international strategies to democratize credit and reduce poverty,” he stated.
In his message, the state official affirmed that the more than one thousand attendees who are expected to attend the event, will find Yucatan the ideal place for microfinance innovation given that it is a place of origins and intercultural connections with the ideal conditions to carry out international-sized events.
The Microcredit Summit Campaign was started in 1997 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, John Hatch, founder of FINCA, and Sam Daley-Harris, creator of RESULTS, a citizen movement to end poverty, with her majesty Queen Sofia from Spain as an honorary member. The Campaign’s initial goal was to ensure that 100 million of the world’s poorest families receive access to microcredit.
Today, 16 years and Microcredit Summits later and having attracted over 15,000 delegates from over 100 countries, the Campaign has become the largest global platform for government leaders, financial institutions, businesses, religious groups and civil society organizations working together to provide financial services to those excluded from the financial system, enabling them to escape from extreme poverty.
During the press conference, Ms. Elenitza Canavati Hadjopulos, general coordinator of PRONAFIM, and Larry Reed, director of the Campaign, were also present. Ms. Canavati emphasized that Mexico was chosen as the venue in 2014 because of the extraordinary measures implemented in regards to financial inclusion in order to stimulate the economic mobility of the population at the base of the pyramid. PRONAFIM was specifically highlighted as having been shown to provide economic stability for millions of families living in poverty.
“Once again, Mexico has shown how the government and financial service providers can work together to to provide more possibilities to families to move out of poverty," Reed said.
One of the topics to be addressed will be the inspiration for this event: "The Next Generation: Innovations in Microfinance." The analysis of a study Creative Metier (UK) undertook for the Summit, will be disclosed, outlining the key features that should characterize the next generation of industry leaders in order to achieve full financial inclusion. Another session uses Mexico as a case study to explore what the government, regulators, and financial service providers can do to reduce over indebtedness and make financial markets safer for vulnerable people.
Reed also announced the participation of keynote speakers, including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Shameran Abed (director of microfinance at BRAC Bangladesh), Yves Moury (executive director of Fundación Capital in Colombia), Tara Nathan (executive director of public-private partnerships at MasterCard Worldwide in the United States), and Alfonso García Mora (practice manager at the World Bank in the US)
Elenitza Canavati, general coordinator of PRONAFIM—after expressing the pride and honor that Mexico has been chosen to conduct the event and her appreciation for the great support that has been received by the governor of Yucatán—shared that at least 1,000 representatives of microfinance institutions partners and managers of industry, associations, organizations, as well as delegates from at least 75 countries are expected.
She also reported that the Summit will be preceded by the XIII National Microfinance Meeting, a national event that PRONAFIM has organized annually for 12 years to guide the sector in the development of strategies, partnerships, and action plans and to analyze the impact of public policy on microfinance in the country.
She stressed the importance of these events to raise awareness of how the Government of the Republic, through programs like PRONAFIM, aims to bring financial services to the population who currently lacks them. "The Summit will be an event that will go well with PRONAFIM’s achievements in which we plan to provide over 1,800 million pesos, "she said.
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The Microcredit Summit Campaign (the “Campaign”), a project of RESULTS Educational Fund, is the largest global network of institutions and individuals involved in microfinance and is committed to two important goals: 1) reaching 175 million of the world’s poorest families with microfinance and 2) helping 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Campaign convenes a broad array of actors involved with microfinance to promote best practices in the field, to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and to work towards alleviating world poverty through microfinance.
Sabina Rogers, Microcredit Summit Campaign, http://microcreditsummit.org/, +1 (202) 637-9600, [email protected]
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