The Citi Foundation will work with the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network (SEEP) to create the 3-year USD 11.2 million Citi Network Strengthening Program. The program will include 12 major microfinance trade associations and their members.
The program’s goal will be to improve the integration of microfinance into the mainstream economies of developing countries. This includes improving participating trade associations’ ability to develop products and services which meet their clients’ needs. In addition, the program seeks to “enhance the industry’s infrastructure, introduce higher standards of management and governance, and promote the vital role of microfinance in providing the poor with access to financial services.”
The Citi Network Strengthening Program will attempt to achieve these goals by doing comprehensive assessments of the trade associations’ capacity to meet its members’ needs. In addition, it will conduct in-depth reports on the microfinance industry in the respective country or region. Finally, the program will include business, strategic, and implementation plans that may consist of new technologies, advocating interest rate liberalization, establishing rating agencies, creating local debt and equity ratings funds, and developing links between the commercial and microfinance sectors.
The 12 participating trade associations represent roughly 60 countries, 1,300 microfinance organization members and microfinance institutions (MFIs), and 19 million clients. Of these 12 trade associations, 7 are already members of the SEEP Network. The trade associations by region are as follows:
- Asia Pacific: Banking With the Poor Network, China Association for Microfinance, Microfinance Council of the Philippines, India’s Sa-Dhan, and Pakistan Microfinance Network
- Africa: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda
- Americas: Mexico’s ProDesarrollo, Ecuador’s Red Financiera Rural, and Central America’s REDCAMIF
- Europe: Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe & New Independent States, and Russian Microfinance Center
- Middle East: Sanabel
The SEEP Network is an international organization with the goal of connecting microenterprise practitioners via a global learning community. The group focuses on developing best practice standards in enterprise development and financial services. It consists of 67 members in over 140 countries, reaching over 23 million clients. MicroCapital covered the SEEP Network conference on microfinance’s commercial potential is the following story.
The Citi Foundation is the grant-making arm of international financial conglomerate Citigroup and focuses its grants on microfinance and microentrepreneurship. The Citi Foundation has contributed nearly USD 60 million in funding for 250 MFIs, trade associations, and microenterprise programs in 55 countries. Citigroup also has Citi Microfinance, a business unit focused on commercial activities and introducing new products to MFIs. Citi Microfinance has worked with over 70 MFIs in over 35 countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. MicroCapital’s coverage of the Citi Foundation’s past grants can be found here.
by Jennifer Lee
Additional Resources:
Citigroup: Home; Foundation; Microfinance
SEEP Network: “Citi Foundation Launches $11.2 Million International Microfinance Program in Partnership with the SEEP Network”, March 20, 2008.
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