The 3rd African Microfinance Conference, Uganda, 20-23 August
20 August 2007
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Millennium Development Goal 8: Aid, Trade, Growth &
Global Partnership
 Today is the first day of the
 3rd African Microfinance Conference. Spread over three days and taking
place in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, the event will bring together the
continent's major figures in, and leading thinkers on, microfinance.
Microfinance - which has been described as"the world's
most powerful weapon against poverty" - provides people in the developing
world with small loans that give them the chance to build businesses and
therefore generate income. Currently, 2 billion people worldwide have no access to basic
financial services, which includes bank accounts, insurance and pension schemes
as well as loans. Microfinance is a way of promoting enterprise amongst people
who otherwise would be dependent on aid.
New options for Africa
Under the banner "New Options for Rural and Urban Africa", the conference will
present sessions on such key issues as improving financial literacy and
financial inclusion, microinsurance, how the microfinance industry can benefit
from technical innovations, and even
how microfinance can deal with some of the consequences of climate change.
DFID Uganda has played a central role in the organising committee for this
event. The opportunity will also be provided for DFID to show how the
Financial Sector Deepening Project
is making a difference in Uganda, with £7 million invested over the last five
years to open up financial services to more poor people. With the Ugandan
microfinance industry growing at a rapid pace, the conference comes at an exciting
time and should prove to be a valuable exchange of ideas and expertise.
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Small loans make a major difference
 Image courtesy of G.M.B Akash/Panos Pictures
Throughout the developing world, DFID is supporting microfinance to help more
people out of poverty. As well as the work that has been done in Uganda, where
for example Village
Savings and Loan Associations have been established in over 30 districts
through a £1.1 million grant, in Afghanistan more than 300,000 people (70% of
whom are women) are
accessing small
loans as a result of DFID's commitment of £10 million to microfinance
institutions.
Also, in Bangladesh, DFID is
investing up to £40 million to allow farmers, small businesses and people
living in extreme poverty to obtain financial services. And in Pakistan, work is
being done with the
Kashf
Foundation to provide small loans to
300,000 low income women over the next five years.
Recently, the value of microfinance was recognised on a prominent
international stage when the Nobel Peace Prize was
awarded to Professor Muhammad Yunus for his
work in Bangladesh with the
Grameen
(or "village") Bank. The Grameen, which gives small loans to families and
businesses, has shown how effective microfinance can be in bringing about social
development.
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