Source: Vietnam News Agency.
Original news wire available here.
Hanoi, Vietnam, August 28 – Established in July 2006, the microfinance network has proved to be an important financial channel which contributes greatly to reducing poverty and improving rural people’s living conditions in Vietnam.
With the aim of providing credit and savings services for the poor, the network brought together seven credit institutions operating in northern mountainous Son La province’s Mai Son district, northern mountainous Dien Bien province’s Dien Bien district and Dien Bien Phu city, northern Quang Ninh province’s Dong Trieu and Uong Bi districts, central Ha Tinh province’s Can Loc district, and central Ninh Thuan province’s Ninh Phuoc district.
By June this year, the network lent nearly USD 3.1 million (50 billion VND) to 25,000 poor people, most of them disadvantaged women, enable them to start animal breeding, cultivation, and household-based business. Through those credit programmes, poor women also gained access to advanced technology and joined social activities.
During the past two years, the network received assistance from international donors and organisations, including Action Aid Vietnam, Oxfam UK, the European Union, the Finnish embassy in Hanoi, Ford Foundation, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Unilever fund, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Counterpart International and Cordaid of the Netherlands.
In mid-March, the Cordaid pledged to help the network develop the “Mutual social security fund” and consider loans to the network members in Dong Trieu, Mai Son and Ninh Phuoc.
At the same time, Action Aid is implementing a USD 200,000 (136,500 EURO) project aiming to increase microfinance organisations’ capacity to cope with the impacts of WTO accession. The two-year project, starting from March 2007, also helps credit organisations in Mai Son, Dong Trieu and Can Loc extend their operations.
At the opening ceremony of the Asia Microfinance Forum 2008 in Hanoi on August 27, State Bank Governor Tran Van Giau described microfinance activities as an important tool to implement the country’s goal for poverty reduction and hunger alleviation.
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