The China Microfinance Summit was held in Beijing on September 22-24, 2003. It was jointly organised by Grameen Trust (GT) and the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The summit was sponsored by GT, Citigroup Foundation, Grameen Foundation-USA, CASS, Ford Foundation and the People’s Bank of China.
A borrower sharing her experiences at the press conference of Beijing Summit: Professor Latifee, Professor Du Xiaoshan and Mr. Richard Stanley were present.
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The summit, attended by microfinance practitioners who have been implementing numerous microcredit initiatives that followed essential Grameen approach, provided an opportunity to share the experiences of microfinance institutions in fighting poverty with special reference to China. It discussed the experience already acquired, problems encountered and new possibilities for development of microfinance industry in the country.
The summit had sessions on macropolicies for microfinance, the progress and challenges of current programs that target the poor in China and their impact on poverty reduction, capacity building strategies and innovations in poverty focused microfinance programs. A total 130 participants attended the summit from China, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Vietnam, France and the USA. The participants represented the microfinance programs, the central and other banks, donors agencies, wholesale funds, research institutions,clientele and the government.
The summit concluded that microfinance could play a significant role in poverty reduction in China and this would need concerted and coordinated efforts from all concerned who believed in the power of microfinance.
Report by Grameen Trust
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