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UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND Microfinance |
Issue 5 / September - October 2004 |
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News | Financial Industry Leaders Join Patrons Group to Advise the International Year of Microcredit 2005 Affirm Commitment to Building Inclusive Financial Sectors that Serve Poor and Low-Income People NEW YORK, 22 September 2004— Prominent leaders in the fields of economic development, banking and finance will serve on the Patrons group to advise on the United Nation’s International Year of Microcredit 2005. The Advisors will address two key challenges – meeting the unmet demand for basic financial services and removing the constraints that exclude people from fully participating in the financial sector. The 16 Advisors, a range of leaders representing local microfinance institutions to large international commercial banks and donor agencies, include: Hernando de Soto, President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILID) in Peru; Diederik Laman Trip, Chairman of ING Netherlands; Diana Medman, Director of AO Bioprocess and the founder of the Russian Women’s Microfinance Network; Raguram Rajan, Economic Counselor and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Stanley Fischer, Vice Chairman Citigroup Inc. “In environments where businesses cannot flourish, countries cannot develop,” said Citigroup’s Fischer. “Whether it’s in the world’s largest economies or in smaller, less developed ones, people need access to sustainable financial services. I am honored to be part of the Year of Microcredit, which I believe is an excellent platform to build the bridges necessary to scale up access to these economic tools.” The International Year of Microcredit – scheduled for launch 18 November – will promote the rapid growth of strong microcredit and microfinance sectors to serve the needs of a wide variety of poor clients. In addition, the Year will recognize the contribution of microcredit and microfinance toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of poverty eradication and providing opportunities to tap the spirit of entrepreneurship existing in poor communities. “It’s necessary to support micro and small business as they are the backbone of the economy and essential to the well-being of the society as a whole, especially the poor in rural areas,” said Mr. In Channy, Managing Director of ACLEDA Bank in Cambodia and member of the Advisors Group. “Microcredit does that and the Year will go a long way to ensure we continue on the right path.” “Though poor and low income people may not have assets when they receive their first loan, access to basic financial services allows them to build assets,” Mr. Hernando De Soto said. “I am honored to be part of this exciting undertaking to mobilize the international community to achieve the Year’s goals.” Billions continue to lack access to basic financial services; primarily savings, credit, insurance products, and money transfer services. The Advisors will focus the world’s attention on the potential of microfinance as a powerful tool to grow the businesses and assets of poor and low-income people. Studies have shown that microfinance – often referred to as the fuel of private sector development – leverages the productivity and raises the income levels of poor and low-income people, supports the ability of poor households to manage critical financial transactions, stimulates local markets, and extends employment opportunities as businesses grow into small enterprises. “The Year of Microcredit is privileged to have such a diverse group of Advisors who share a strong commitment to the ideals and principles of the UN and to enhancing the vital role microfinance can play in transforming the lives of millions of people and helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals,” said Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
Following are short
bios of those serving as Advisors on the Year of Microcredit 2005 Patrons Group:
René Azokli is Chairperson of Consortium Alafia, the microfinance network of Benin. He also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of PADME, a leading microfinance institution in Benin. Mr. Azokli has been with PADME since 1993 and began work there as a loan officer. He has extensive consulting experience with local and international organizations on projects to develop microfinance in Africa. Since 2000, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Women’s World Banking (WWB), an international microfinance organization. Mr. Azokli was elected to the Board of AFMIN in 2000, and holds the position of Chair.
Charles Konan Banny has held the post of Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) since 1990; he was appointed after holding the position of Special Advisor to his predecessor. He has also worked as a central banker at the Headquarters of BCEAO and as the Central Director of Research. Mr. Banny is also the Chairman of BCEAO Board of Directors, Chairman of WAMU Banking Commission, a member of WAMU Public Savings and Capital Markets Regional Council and member of the Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (WADB).
Matthew Bishop is The Economist's Business Editor, based in London. Until September 2002 he served as New York Bureau Chief, covering US business and finance. Matthew has also served as Economics Correspondent in the London bureau, writing about the world's economies and financial markets. He has appeared on CNBC, CNNfn and BBC television and radio, and is the author of The Pocket Economist, a layman's guide to economics.
Greg Casagrande launched South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) as a Grameen replication in the remote South Pacific nation of Samoa in January 2000. In the past 3 years, SPBD has trained and provided unsecured credit and ongoing motivation and guidance to over 2000 poor Samoan micro-entrepreneurs. SPBD is now the largest and most successful MFI in the entire South Pacific region. Greg received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University. He is also a CPA. Prior to launching SPBD, Greg worked in various financial and general management positions for Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Chicago and Japan.
In Channy is General Manager of ACLEDA Bank Limited. He studied Business Organization and Management at Gwynedd Mercy College, USA in 1990. Mr. Channy is one the founders of ACLEDA. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Mekong Project Development Facility, an initiative of the World Bank/IFC. Mr. Channy obtained a Bachelor Degree in Education at the Faculty of Advanced Education in Thailand, in 1992.
Stanley Fischer joined Citigroup in February 2002. Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Fischer was the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Before he joined the Fund, Mr. Fischer was the Killian Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From January 1988 to August 1990 he was Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist at the World Bank. He has also held consulting appointments with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Treasury, and the Bank of Israel. Mr. Fischer holds a B.Sc (Econ) and M.Sc. (Econ) from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT. He was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago until 1973.
Marilou van Golstein Brouwers is a Senior Fund Manager for the Triodos Bank in the Netherlands, where she has worked since 1990. She is responsible for international microfinance investments. In addition, Dr. van Golstein Brouwers serves on the boards of a number of socially responsible institutions, including: INAISE; Akiba Commercial Bank, Tanzania; Centenary Rural Development Bank, Uganda; K-REP Bank, Kenya; and Small Business Bank, Russia. She joined WWB’s Board of Trustees in 2003.
Fazle Hasan Abed is the founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which is devoted to working in the fields of rural development, agriculture, health, education, rural credit, and rural enterprise development programs. Mr. Abed was a member of the World Bank NGO Committee from 1966-91 and a member of the International Commission on Health Research for Development at Harvard University from 1987-90. He has also served on the Task Force on Health Research, WHO Geneva and as a member of the Independent South Asian Poverty Commission. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University.
Enrique V. Iglesias was re-elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank on November 8, 2002. He began his fourth five-year term on April 1, 2003. Prior to his election as president of the IDB, Iglesias was Uruguay’s Minister of Foreign Relations, (1985-1988); Executive Secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), (1972-1985); Secretary General of the U.N. Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, held in Kenya in 1981; and chairman of the conference that launched the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986. Mr. Iglesias served as President of Uruguay’s Central Bank from 1966 to 1968.
Diederik Laman Trip currently is the Managing Director Communications and Corporate Affairs ING Group and Chairman of ING Netherlands. From 2000 until 2004 he was member of the Executive Committee of ING Europe and responsible for Retail and Commercial Financial Services. From 1996 till the end of 1999 Mr Laman Trip was Chairman of the Postbank in the Netherlands. He has been working for ING and its predecessors for more than 25 years.
Diana Medman is the leader of the Women's Microfinance Network in Russia, the center of Women’s World Banking (WWB) network activities in that country. She is the Director of AO Bioprocess, one of Russia's largest privately-held industrial groups, that includes engineering companies, oil extraction, shipping, chemical production, and construction. Ms. Medman is trained as a biochemist, and was part of the chemistry faculty at Moscow State University from 1979 to 1987. During the past ten years, she has become actively involved in the women's movement and serves on the board of a number of Russian women's organizations. Ms. Medman joined the WWB Board of Trustees in 1998.
Hernando de Soto is currently President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) headquartered in Lima, Peru. Between 1988 and 1995, he and the ILD were responsible for some 400 initiatives, laws and regulations that modernized Peru's economic system. He has held appointments as Economist to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; President, Executive Committee of the Copper Exporting Countries Organization; Managing Director, Universal Engineering Corporation; Principal, Swiss Bank Corporation Consultant Group; and Governor, Peru Central Reserve Bank. He also served as President Alberto Fujimori’s Personal Representative and Principal Advisor. He is affiliated with the World Commission on the Global Dimension of Globalization, International Labor Organization, United Nations Development Program Taskforce to Examine Private Resources for Development, and the Expert Group on Development Issues. De Soto is the author of The Other Path (1986), and The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (2000) in addition to numerous articles.
Raghuram Rajan is the first person of Indian origin to be given the coveted post of the Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Rajan is the co-author of a book called Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists (Crown Business, New York, 2003). He is now Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department. He is also a director at the International School of Business, Hyderabad and an adviser to the regulator of the country's capital markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Mr. Rajan earned his electrical engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1985 and pursued MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Washington Sycip is the
founder of the SGV Group. He is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees &
Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management and Advisor for Arthur
Andersen. Mr. Sycip also serves as Honorary Chairman of the Euro-Asia Centre
at INSEAD, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Advisory Committee at the New York Stock
Exchange, and President of the International Federation of Accountants. He is
also a member of the Board of Overseers at Columbia University Graduate School
of Business, Board of Governors at the Joseph H Lauder Institute of Management
and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, the International
Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Honorary Life Trustee
of the Asia Society, and on the International Advisory Boards of the following
companies: American International Group, Chase Manhattan Bank, and VIAG Aktiengeselleschaft.
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