As nearly 2500 world business leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2009, ACCION announced that its “Lend to End Poverty” petition surpassed the 20 thousand signature mark. The online petition began earlier in January, and calls on the co-chairs to promote and prioritize microfinance as a subject at the conference. ACCION estimates microfinance could benefit 500 million poor entrepreneurs over the next 10 years, and is only reaching 10 to 20 percent of its potential today.
Specifically, the petition calls on the leaders to highlight the need for three initiatives: (1) to build microfinance programs in underserved markets; (2) to broaden the range of financial services available to the poor beyond credit to include savings accounts, insurance, remittances, and business and financial training; (3) to protect low-income entrepreneurs through such best practices as quality services, transparency, appropriate pricing and debt collection, and maintaining the privacy of customer information.
The World Economic Forum is an independent international non-profit foundation made up of global business leaders. It was founded in 1971 by Professor Klaus Schwab as the European Management Forum to discuss global management practices. It holds an annual conference in Davos, Switzerland which acts as a platform for discussion on major global issues. ACCION has expressed concern that this year, the global financial crisis will overshadow other pressing issues.
ACCION International is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1961. It issued its first microloan in Brazil in 1973. ACCION disburses loans in Latin American, Asia and Africa through its partner organizations, which it provides with technical assistance and funding. In the last decade, ACCION partners have disbursed more than 22.4 million loans totaling USD 17.4 billion, with a 97 percent repayment rate. In regards to the “Lend to End Poverty” petition, ACCION President and CEO, Maria Otero said, “We set out three weeks ago to engage 10,000 new supporters in our mission. That more than 20,000 have signed on inspires, humbles and motivates us. We thank them deeply for their support.”
By Ryan Hogarth, Research Assistant
Additional Resources:
ACCION International: “Lend to End Poverty”
ACCION International: Home
ACCION International: “Lend to End Poverty’ Campaign Calls On World Economic Forum to Prioritize Microfinance”
Mix Market: Profile for ACCION
The World Economic Forum: Home
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion, Sturgeon Lead $6.4m Equity Round for Trukkr, Fintech Serving Trucking SMEs in Pakistan
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: Responsible Finance Forum; July 5-7, 3023; Bengaluru, India
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Brick & Mortar Ventures Lead $3.4m Equity Raise for Licify to Expand Vende+ Construction Portal from Colombia to Mexico
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp Global Summit; October 19, 2023; Mumbai, India
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Semaai Raises Equity from Accion, XA Network, Beenext, Surge for Technology Supporting Farmers, Agricultural MSMEs in Indonesia
