SG Explained D-8 Activities at The Asia Pacific Microcredit Summit in Bali

Jakarta, Indonesia | August 08, 2008 by D-8 Secretariat

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the Asia-Pacific regional micro credit summit in the resort island of Bali on Monday (July 28). Over 900 delegates from 50 countries attended the Summi. Leaders from the largest Microfinance Institutions and networks in Asia and the Pacific including NABARD, SIDBI, Grameen Bank, ASA, and BRAC were also present in attendance list.

During the opening ceremony, Yudhoyono will be accompanied by Governor of Bank Indonesia (the central bank) Boediono, Director of the Micro Credit Summit Campaign Sam Daley Haris and founder of Bangladesh`s Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus. Yudhoyono said in his opening speech that “access to the financial services or credit loan is the key to the prosperity”.

Recently, the Indonesian Government through the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Micro Enterprises, has lauched the KUR (Kredit Usaha Rakyat - People’s Entrerpreneurship Credit) Program to facilitate poor people to get access to the financial services. This program hoped to reach the poor people to get capital to start their own micro enterprises.

On the occasion, Muhammad Yunus in his capacity as an international micro credit figure presented a token of appreciation to Ani Yudhoyono for her service in the development of micro finance in Indonesia.

The summit was chaired by Honduras President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

President Rosales has expressed deep support for the summit, saying support for the micro financial sector laid a fundamental basis for the creation of strong democracy and good governance and was imperative to improve productivity and competitive edge to reduce the poverty rate.

Microfinance Transparency, a not-for-profit initiative that will bring transparency to interest rate pricing was launched on the opening day. This new initiative was endorsed by institutions reaching 74 million clients (more than half of all microcredit clients in the world) including some of the largest MFIs and networks around the world.

The summit was also filled by presentation from D-8 Secretary General, Dipo Alam, about the organization and how it plan to make the most use of remittance potentials in developing the microcredit sector of the D-8 countries, by bringing into mind the vision envisaged in the 2008-2018 Roadmap that “By the end of the Second Decade of D-8 Cooperation (2008-2018), the dynamism on the socio-economic cooperation of D-8 Community would achieve a significant level of their economic development by the increase of intra trade and social welfare”.

Dipo said that in order to achieve the vision, the objectives and goals of D-8 Cooperation in the next decade are, among other, to establish and/or enhance the performance of the working groups on microfinance, migrant workers and remittances. He further on explained on relevant opportunities in this field, such as the South-South Migrant Workers, Reducing poverty, creating new jobs, promoting sustainable development, that remittances could be directed to the small farmers to produce agricultural products, that rmittances increasing constantly every year, and strong demand for migrant workers from oil-exporting Middle Eastern countries due to high oil prices and strong economies.

At the end, Dipo elaborated the proposed Program and Activities at great length. They include:
a. Safe and efficient payment systems for remittances;
b. More institutionalised mediation of remittance funds
c. Encourage cooperation between remittance service providers and local financial institutions in order to strengthen local financial markets and improve access by recipients, especially in rural areas, to financial services;
d. Deepen D-8 Countries’ rural financial system by extending its reach and coverage in rural low-income sectors through efficient remittance management;
e. Alternative remittance distribution channels for small financial intermediaries;
f. Expand the use of banking services by D-8 migrants and their relatives and include them in financial system, as well as raise the awareness and provide guidance in the area of entrepreneurship and contribute to their financial education and inclusion;

g. Contribute to improving the quality of life of low-income D-8 citizens through access to housing solutions.

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