The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) will be held September 22-25, 2009 in New York City. GGI is introducing four new Action Areas this year, including the Financing a Sustainable Future program. Under this Action Area, participants will discuss and make “Commitments to Action” on impact investing in micro, small and medium enterprises, housing in developing countries, climate adaptations, and microinsurance.
The CGI was established in 2005 by U.S. President Bill Clinton to convene global leaders from all sectors to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 100 current and former heads of state, 14 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and members of the media. CGI members have made more than 1,400 commitments valued at USD 46 billion in the areas of education, energy & climate, global health and poverty alleviation. The CGI community also includes CGI University, a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, CGI Asia, and MyCommitment.org, an online portal where individuals can make their own Commitments to Action.
For the Fifth Annual Meeting, CGI is introducing four new Action Areas – points of collaboration and intervention – that will guide CGI’s program. These Action Areas allow CGI members to make concrete Commitments to Action – to plan and launch specific projects to address the global economic, environmental, and social challenges discussed. The 2009 Action Areas include Harnessing Innovation for Development, Strengthening Infrastructure, Developing Human Capital, and Financing a Sustainable Future.
The Financing a Sustainable Future program explores “impact investing” – investment opportunities which aim to generate financial returns in addition to social and/or environmental value. The sessions will not only look at microfinance as an attractive investment, but will also look at finance opportunities in health, clean energy, housing, small and medium-sized enterprise, and microinsurance.
The Clinton Global Initiative has included microfinance in its Annual Meeting program for several years. At the 2008 Annual Meeting, participants discussed the need for a diversity of financial instruments beyond credit, such as savings and insurance (including crop, life, and health insurance), as well as innovations in the delivery mechanisms for financial services, including ATMs, mobile phones, and online terminals. Speakers included: Christopher Crane, President and CEO of Opportunity International;?Elizabeth Littlefield, Chief Executive of CGAP; Maria Otero, President and CEO of ACCION International; Fazle Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC; Sylvia Matthews Burwell, President of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Julio Frenk, Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Bank Limited; and?Robert E. Rubin, Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup Inc. and Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Commitments to Action that came out of the 2008 Annual Meeting included a USD 25 million commitment by Habitat for Humanity to mobilize capital for housing finance, a commitment by Root Capital to triple its lending to microenterprises from USD 41 million to USD 121 million in the next five years, a USD 15 million commitment by ACCION International to unite the microfinance industry around core principles of consumer protection, a commitment by Oxfam America and Swiss Reinsurance Company to launch a pilot for weather index insurance in Ethiopia for USD 335,000, and a USD 1.5 million commitment by 51Give – an online microfinance lending platform – to establish a financing mechanism for student loans. While progress updates are available for many of the commitments made, CGI does not track the total investments made in microfinance.
In his closing remarks for the 2008 CGI Annual Meeting, Bill Clinton praised microfinance as a viable investment alternative amid turbulent markets; read more in this MicroCapital story.
By Jaclyn Berfond, Research Assistant
Additional Resources:
Clinton Global Initiative: Homepage
MicroCapital Story: Bill Clinton Extols Microfinance Amid Global Credit Crisis at 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Summit
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