European 
Microfinance Week 2020 launched today with Action Group meetings; opening remarks from Christophe Schiltz of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs; and a keynote address by Ela Bhatt, the founder of India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association.
Mr Schiltz commented on the need for continued emphasis on client protection as the COVID-19 pandemic stresses both financial services providers (FSPs) and households. He also quoted from the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) COVID-19 Financial Inclusion Compass that the pandemic has created the opportunity to improve the financial inclusion sector in ways “that the gravitational pull of the status quo would never allow in more normal times.”
Ela Bhatt noted that her organization and others were focused on savings back in the 1970s before microcredit became more popular. Indeed the provision of a menu of services targeting various phases in the “life cycle of low-income households… [such as] healthcare, skills training, veterinary care, market linkages… has cut down on the forced migration of men from their own land” and families to seek wages in cities. Ms Bhatt sees this migration as a great tragedy in the history of India.
Ms Bhatt also spoke more broadly about the financial sector. She argued that people have gotten caught up serving the financial system rather than money serving people as a tool. Players in “the financial sector need to decide whether to invest in biscuits vs guns, trees vs pesticides, bicycles vs cars. How do we make recycling more profitable than new manufacturing?” She also argued for community approaches: “Let us encourage community ownership of assets in addition to private assets. The spirit of cooperation is as likely to lead to profit as is a dose of healthy competition.” Along those lines, she added, “Digital financial services should be owned and managed by local women and organizations such as cooperatives; [these] services should be localized.”
This feature is part of a sponsored series on European Microfinance Week 2020, which is taking place online through November 20. The event is held annually by e-MFP. MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and report on the conference each year since 2012.
Sources and Additional Resources
European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) information on European Microfinance Week 2020
http://www.e-mfp.eu/european-microfinance-week-2020
MicroCapital coverage since 2012 of European Microfinance Week, including each European Microfinance Award
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/
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