MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, ReGrow West Africa, Tata Communications Make Commitments at 11th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting

At the recent eleventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the US-based Clinton Foundation, 123 new commitments to “alleviate poverty, create a cleaner environment and increase access to health care and education” were announced, including [1]:

– USD 175 million to support lending, savings and “extension services” provided by Opportunity International, a microfinance NGO based in the US city of Chicago, to 2,500 new schools and 250,000 smallholder farmers in Africa by 2018 [1];

– Supporting “post-crisis, sustainable economic development” in the Ebola-affected countries of West Africa by Resolve, a US-based NGO working to address natural resource and public health issues, and ReGrow West Africa, a public-private partnership launched by the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group (EPSMG), which is backed by corporate donors including the US-based oil company, Chevron. With an endowment of USD 4.5 million from “international investors, donors and other partners,” ReGrow West Africa will introduce the “ReGrow Marketplace” and aims to allow direct investment in 90 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 12 “high impact greenfield investment projects” by October 2017 [1];

– A commitment by India-based Tata Communications to give 25,000 women access to mobile banking platforms and supplementary empowerment programs will be implemented in partnership with microfinance institutions (MFIs) beginning in Guatemala, India, Indonesia and Nigeria;

Among the progress reports on commitments made during previous annual meetings was that 11,119 Kenyan youth and women entrepreneurs have been trained with 20,000 more to be trained in 2015 since the MasterCard Foundation, Equity Bank, the government of Kenya and an unidentified microfinance institution (MFI) based in Nairobi, Kenya in 2010 to building “financial capacity and entrepreneurship skills” for 619,500 Kenyan youth and women [1].

CGI encourages its members to make specific commitments towards addressing global social, economic or environmental challenges. Participants committed USD 83 million to be disbursed to entrepreneurs and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) at the eleventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. As of 2015, CGI members have made approximately 3,200 commitments, which reportedly have impacted the lives of 430 million people in approximately 180 countries.

By Meredith Steih, Research Associate

About Clinton Global Initiative (CGI):

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the US-based nonprofit Clinton Foundation, was established in 2005 with the aim of bringing together global leaders to make specific commitments related to alleviating poverty, creating a cleaner environment and increasing access to health care and education. Through 2015, CGI members have made approximately 3,400 commitments, which have reportedly impacted the lives of 430 million people in approximately 180.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Information provided to MicroCapital by the Clinton Global Initiative.

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Opportunity International

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Tata Group

MicroCapital Universe Profile: MasterCard Foundation

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Equity Bank

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