Nadi, Fiji,
July 11 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will bring its global expertise to the Pacific Microfinance Week 2009 conference in Nadi, Fiji where it will share its experience in sustainable solutions with microfinance practitioners in the Pacific.
As a principal sponsor of Pacific Microfinance Week 2009, IFC will be sharing
knowledge in areas that are of particular relevance to the practice of microfinance in the Pacific. IFC experts on microfinance and access to finance will discuss various solutions to increasing access to microfinance. Presentations will provide insight into solutions that have been successful in regions with constraints to microfinance similar to the Pacific’s. These solutions include the development of credit bureaus to increase lending, and the possibility of using technology such as mobile phone banking to reduce the high cost of service delivery in the region. There will be further discussions to encourage banks to tailor their activities toward providing profitable microfinance products.
IFC’s focus is on creating and supporting commercially viable microfinance institutions that can attract the private capital needed to scale up and respond to unmet demand. Credit schemes must be profitable to ensure sustainability.
“IFC is unique in that we can draw on our global expertise to find local solutions to creating sustainable microfinance institutions,” said Robert Simms, IFC’s Pacific Access to Finance Program Manager. “Sustainable microfinance will allow more low-income borrowers in the Pacific to gain access to financial services, to fulfil their business potential, and to build a better life.”
Pacific Microfinance Week 2009 will be held from July 13 to 17. It is a week-long series of events, meetings, and gatherings of a range of organizations and individuals that share an interest in promoting the provision of inclusive and sustainable financial services in the Pacific. IFC’s Access to Finance program forms part of a regional Advisory Services program to improve private sector development in the Pacific. IFC’s donor partners for advisory services are the governments of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totalled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
