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UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND Microfinance |
Issue 16 / September 2005 |
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Letter from Richard Weingarten, Newly Appointed Executive Secretary of UNCDF
Dear Colleagues - 
I am extremely pleased to join the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as Executive Secretary. In my new role, I will concentrate on microfinance as a critical part of UNCDF's work in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). In accordance with our new Business Plan, UNCDF expects to (i) increase the number of LDCs in which we provide microfinance services, (ii) extend our support to a greater number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in these countries, and (iii) develop new microfinance products and services that will serve the poor. We also expect to work with an increasing number of LDCs to assist them in the development of inclusive financial sectors to enhance access of their citizens to financial services. In this important work, I am very much looking forward to working with all of you. I arrive at UNCDF at a critical time. I believe that 2005 will be a pivotal year in shaping the global development agenda for the next decade, and we are working diligently to ensure that microfinance is recognized as an important part of that process. As you well know, microfinance is an effective way of creating the conditions for sustainable and long-term human and economic development. It can also play a meaningful role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and contributing to the reduction of poverty around the world. It has become a vital tool in the strategies of national governments and major international development organizations to enhance local economic development and to encourage and support private sector development at the earliest stages. Over the last few years, the importance of microfinance and the building of inclusive financial sectors in the global effort to substantially reduce poverty has been well recognized. The Brussels Plan of Action for the Least Developed Countries, for example, recognized microfinance as particularly suited to support poverty alleviation efforts in the LDCs and stressed the need to promote greater access to financial services for the poor. It also recommended strengthening and providing additional support to microfinance institutions. Similarly, the Monterrey Consensus specifically noted microfinance as "important for enhancing the social and economic impact of the financial sector," and the UN Millennium Project highlighted access to microfinance and the importance of stable and well-functioning financial sectors in its Recommendations. More recently, these factors were reconfirmed in the G8 Declaration in 2004, by the Commission on Private Sector Development, in the Report of the Commission for Africa, and in the Gleneagles Communiqué earlier this year. But perhaps the most powerful endorsement of the importance of microfinance has come from the United Nations, with the designation of 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit. During this year, UNCDF has been honored to host its Secretariat. Working under the leadership of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and a prominent Group of Advisors from governments, donors, multi-and bi-lateral agencies, global financial institutions, and the private sector, the Year has been able to raise public awareness of microfinance issues considerably. More than 300 conferences and events have been held in more than 100 countries and more than 100 academic institutions have become involved in educating students and society about microfinance. In addition, during the Year, nearly half the countries of the world have become engaged in aligning their financial sectors to be more inclusive and active in the global effort to reduce poverty. On November 7-9, the International Year of Microcredit will reach its climax. At the "Forum on Building Inclusive Financial Sectors" to be held at UN headquarters in New York, a wide array of government leaders, development agencies, microfinance institutions, financial services institutions, and representatives of civil society and the private sector will come together. This esteemed gathering will discuss microfinance issues and an agenda and plan for moving forward to strengthen, broaden, and institutionalize support for microfinance. We at UNCDF sincerely hope that many of you will join us at this exciting event. We can also assure you that UNCDF will continue its support of this important initiative in every way that we can. This is an exciting time for microfinance - one that will produce real, lasting benefits for poor people around the world. If any of you are in New York, or are near our UNCDF offices in the field, I encourage you to pay us a visit, so we can continue to work together to build more and stronger microfinance institutions and financial sectors that provide access to financial services to everyone in need. Sincerely,
Richard Weingarten
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