This was the official website for the 2006 Microcredit Summit Campaign.
Content below is from the site's 2005-2006 archived pages and other sources.

Jump ahead ten years: To learn more about what's happening go to the campaign's current website: www.microcreditsummit.org/

Welcome from the Campaign Director

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

August 2005

Dear Friends,

We live in the midst of a global scandal in which 1.2 billion people live on less than USD $1 a day, more than 100 million children of primary school age are not in school, and some 29, 000 children under the age of five die each day from largely preventable malnutrition and disease.

In his foreword to Professor Jeffrey Sach's book, The End of Poverty, Irish rock star Bono writes about the thousands of deaths each day in Africa from “preventable, treatable diseases.”
 

”Future generations…will know whether we answered the key question…History will be our judge, but what’s written is up to us… We can’t say our generation didn’t know how to do it.  We can’t say our generation couldn’t afford to do it.  And we can’t say our generation didn’t have reason to do it.  It’s up to us.”

In response to this global crisis, more than 2900 delegates from over 137 countries gathered in Washington, D.C. in February 1997 for the first Microcredit Summit 1. There we launched a nine year campaign to reach 100 million of the world’s poorest families 2, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2005.

From November 12-15, 2006, 2,000 delegates from more than 100 countries will gather in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for the Global Microcredit Summit, to assess progress toward the Summit’s goal of reaching 100 million poorest, and to launch the second phase of the Campaign with two new goals:

1. Working to ensure that 175 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2015.  (With an average of five in a family this would affect 875 million family members. )

2. Working to ensure that 100 million of the world’s poorest families move from below US$1 a day adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) to above US $1 a day adjusted for PPP, by the end of 2015.  (With an average of five per family this would mean that 500 million people would have risen above $1 a day nearly completing the Millennium Development Goal on halving absolute poverty.)

I urge you to come to Halifax and join the top leaders in the fight to end global poverty.  I promise you will be surrounded by your fellow visionaries in action.

Sincerely,



Sam Daley–Harris, Director 
Microcredit Summit Campaign


1. Any reference to Microcredit should be understood to refer to programs that provide credit for self-employment and other financial and business services (including savings and technical assistance) to very poor persons.
2. The Microcredit Summit Campaign defines poorest as those who are in the bottom half of those living below their nation’s poverty line, or any of the 1.2 billion who live on less than 1 USD a day adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), when they started with a program.  The Campaigns’ greatest challenge lies in bridging the gap between its commitment to reaching the poorest and the lack of a sufficient number of effective poverty measurement tools in use.  Therefore, every mention of the term ‘poorest’ should be read within the context of this dilemma.

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATION Summit 2006 Purpose and Background

 

“Microcredit is a critical anti-poverty tool and a wise investment in human capital. Now that the nations of the world have committed themselves to reduce by half by the year 2015 the number of people living on less than $1 a day, we must look even more seriously at the pivotal role that sustainable microfinance can play and is playing in reaching this Millennium Development Goal.” 
- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan

In February 1997, RESULTS Educational Fund convened the Microcredit Summit, launching a nine-year Campaign to reach 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2005.  This historic event, held in Washington, D.C., brought together over 2,900 delegates from 137 countries.  After the Summit, Margaret Catley-Carlson, the Chair of ICARDA and the Global Water Partnership and Past President of the Canadian International Development Agency said, “There just aren't enough words to describe how good I feel about the outcome of the Microcredit Summit and what a wonderful job you and your colleagues did in making it one of the most amazing events in which I ever participated.”

Continuing on the success of the 1997 Summit, a series of Global and Regional meetings have been successfully held and attended by more than 10,000 delegates from more than 140 countries.  From 1997 to the present, the Microcredit Summit Campaign has relentlessly pursued its goal, maintaining a steadfast commitment to the Summit's four core themes: 1) reaching the poorest, 2) reaching and empowering women, 3) building financially self-sufficient institutions, and 4) ensuring a positive, measurable impact on the lives of the clients and their families.  The Microcredit Summit Campaign is a global effort to put first those whom society has put last - to restore to people control over their own lives and destinies.

As of December 31, 2003, 2,931 microcredit institutions had reported reaching 81 million clients, 55 million of whom were among the poorest when they took their first loan.  Of these 55 million poorest clients, 82.5 percent are women.  Seven hundred seventy-nine institutions submitted a 2004 Institutional Action Plan outlining their progress.  Together these 779 institutions accounted for 90 percent of the poorest clients reported. Assuming five persons per family, the 55 million poorest clients reached by the end of 2003 affected some 274 million family members.

It takes the Campaign ten months to collect and verify the previous year's data.  End of 2005 data will be released at the Summit in Halifax.

In addition to marking the culmination of the first phase of the Campaign, the Global Microcredit Summit will also officially launch the Campaign's extension to 2015 with two new goals:

1. Working to ensure that 175 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of  those families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business  services by the end of 2015. 
2. Working to ensure that 100 million of the world's poorest families move from below US$1 a day adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) to above US$1 a day adjusted for PPP by the end of 2015.

“Access to financial services for the poor is a critical condition for the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.” 
- James D. Wolfensohn, Former President, The World Bank 
in a 2004 letter to 700 parliamentarians

More than 2,000 delegates from over 100 countries are expected to attend the Global Microcredit Summit 2006, including heads of state and government and other dignitaries.  This summit will offer the opportunity for microcredit practitioners, advocates, donors, and others committed to the Summit's goals to assess progress, discuss challenges to achieving the new goals for 2015, and identify strategies for overcoming those challenges.

The Global Microcredit Summit will include: 1) the release of the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2006, outlining progress towards our 100 million poorest goal, 2) five new commissioned papers discussed in plenary sessions, 3) 34 official workshop sessions at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, for both developing and industrialized countries, 4) 34 additional associated sessions organized by delegates, 5) ten day-long courses, 6) presentation of two Institutional Action Plans in plenary session and 14 more in seven breakout Council meetings, and 7) release of the most extensive directory of microcredit institutions ever assembled.

 

 

TRAVEL TO HALIFAX About Halifax

 

The Global Microcredit Summit is being held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, November 12-15, 2006. All sessions for the Summit will be held in the city's World Trade and Convention Centre, located at 1800 Argyle Street in Halifax.

This 250-year-old capital city of the Province of Nova Scotia is rich in history and culture and there are many opportunities for pre and post-Summit excursions.  Temperatures in mid-November can range between 5-10 degrees C (42-52 F).  In order to accommodate our delegates coming from much warmer climates, we have included several hotel options that allow for covered access directly to the Convention Centre via a connected walkway called the “pedway”.

Most Halifax services (including hotels, restaurants, taxis and car services, and many local shops and tourist attractions) accept US currency.  In addition to the world's largest foreign currency exchange specialist, TravelEx, which is located inside the airport terminal, there are numerous banking institutions in very close proximity to area hotels and the World Trade and Convention Centre.

To convert Canadian dollars (CAD) to your national currency, please visit: http://www.xe.com/ucc/ .  As of July 25, 2005, 1 CAD was equal to 0.81 USD. 

Detailed information about Halifax can be found at www.halifaxinfo.com or by contacting Destination Halifax at the following address:

Destination Halifax 
1800 Argyle Street, Suite 802 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 
B3J 3N8
www.destinationhalifax.com
TEL:  1 902 422 9334
FAX:  1 902 492 3175
 
If you are planning on coming to Halifax a few days prior to the Summit, or are planning on staying a few days after the Summit, you will want to take advantage of all that Nova Scotia has to offer.  For a complete listing of area tours, sights of interest, and/or to set up a specialized tour, you may want to contact Ambassatours, a leading local tour operator.
 
Ambassatours Gray Line
Telephone in Halifax: 1-902-425-9999
Toll Free (in North America only): 1-800-565-7173
E-mail: tours@ambassatours.com

History: About the Campaign

From 1997 to 2016, the Microcredit Summit Campaign brought together microfinance practitioners, advocates, educational institutions, donor agencies, international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations and others involved with microfinance to promote best practices in the field, to stimulate the interchanging of knowledge and to work towards reaching our goals. 

In 1997, the first Microcredit Summit launched a nine-year campaign to reach 100 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the year 2005.

In November of 2006 the Campaign was re-launched with two new goals:

  1. Reaching 175 million poorest families with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services.
  1. Helping 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

In addition to their goals, the Campaign had four core themes that focus not only on the number of clients reached but also on the quality of the practitioners’ work:

  • Reaching the Poorest.
  • Empowering Women.
  • Financial Self-Sustainability.
  • A Positive, Measurable Impact.

 

The 2016 Microcredit Summit Campaign

Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan opens 18th Microcredit Summit in Abu Dhabi

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the 18th Microcredit Summit will explore how new and effective financial policies can contribute to the success of the Universal Financial Access 2020 goal, the World Bank 2030 goals, and the U.N. Global Goals.

The Microcredit Summit Campaign has worthy goals and  has had positive results over the years.  Although the campaign is aimed at developing countries, it has inspired local companies in a number of countries to donate and work with agencies and organizations in their communities. The e commerce janitorial supply company where I work for has reached out to several non profit organizations and donated a variety of paper products including paper towels in bulk. I remember one year when the company worked with Meals On Wheels, who is always looking for bulk donations of napkins, paper towels, and paper cups/ plates. If everyone were to do their share of helping out those who are in need, this world would be a better place. Kudos to the work of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and the inspiration they generate with their work.

 



 

More Background On GlobalMicroCreditSummit2006.org

The Global Microcredit Summit 2006, held from November 12 to 15 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was a pivotal event in the microfinance sector. Organized by the Microcredit Summit Campaign, the summit convened over 2,000 delegates from more than 100 countries, including heads of state, government officials, microfinance practitioners, advocates, donors, and other stakeholders committed to poverty alleviation through microfinance.

Historical Context and Objectives

The Microcredit Summit Campaign was initiated in 1997 with the ambitious goal of reaching 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially women, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2005. By 2006, the campaign had made significant strides, reporting that 3,164 microcredit institutions had reached over 92 million clients, with approximately 66.6 million among the poorest when they received their first loan. This progress set the stage for the 2006 summit, which aimed to assess achievements, address challenges, and chart a course for the future of microfinance.

Key Themes and Discussions

The summit's agenda was comprehensive, focusing on several critical areas:

  1. Assessing Progress: Evaluating the advancements made toward the initial goal of reaching 100 million of the poorest families and understanding the impact of microcredit on poverty alleviation.

  2. Setting New Goals: Launching the second phase of the campaign with two new objectives:

    • Ensuring that 175 million of the world's poorest families, especially women, receive credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2015.
    • Aiming for 100 million of these families to move above the US$1 per day threshold, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), by the end of 2015.
  3. Empowering Women: Highlighting the role of microcredit in empowering women, who constituted a significant majority of microcredit clients, and discussing strategies to enhance their economic and social status.

  4. Sustainability and Impact: Exploring ways to build financially self-sufficient microfinance institutions and ensuring a positive, measurable impact on clients' lives.

  5. Innovations in Microfinance: Showcasing new models and technologies in microfinance, including mobile banking and integrated health services, to improve outreach and effectiveness.

Notable Speakers and Contributions

The summit featured prominent figures in the microfinance sector:

  • Muhammad Yunus: The founder of Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Yunus delivered a keynote address emphasizing the need to make access to credit a fundamental human right and advocating for the creation of a more peaceful world through poverty eradication.

  • Sam Daley-Harris: Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, Daley-Harris presented the "State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2006," outlining the progress made and the challenges ahead.

Press and Media Coverage

The summit garnered significant media attention, highlighting its global importance:

  • The Green Skeptic: Reported on Yunus's call for making access to credit a human right and the various commitments made during the summit to fight poverty.

  • MPR News: Featured Muhammad Yunus's speech at the summit, providing insights into his vision for microfinance and its role in poverty alleviation.

Audience and Participation

The summit attracted a diverse audience, including:

  • Microfinance Practitioners: Representatives from microfinance institutions worldwide shared experiences and best practices.

  • Policy Makers and Government Officials: Engaged in discussions on creating enabling environments for microfinance and integrating it into national poverty reduction strategies.

  • Donors and Investors: Explored opportunities to support and scale microfinance initiatives.

  • Academics and Researchers: Presented studies on the impact of microfinance and contributed to evidence-based discussions.

Cultural and Social Significance

The Global Microcredit Summit 2006 was more than a conference; it was a milestone in the global effort to alleviate poverty through financial inclusion. By setting ambitious goals and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders, the summit reinforced the importance of microfinance as a tool for empowerment and sustainable development.

Outcomes and Legacy

The summit concluded with a renewed commitment to expanding the reach and impact of microfinance. The goals set for 2015 aimed to deepen financial inclusion and lift millions out of extreme poverty. The discussions and collaborations initiated at the summit continued to influence policies and practices in the microfinance sector, contributing to its evolution and growth.

 

The Global Microcredit Summit 2006 in Halifax was a landmark event that brought together a global community dedicated to using microfinance as a means to combat poverty. Its emphasis on setting bold goals, assessing progress, and fostering innovation laid the groundwork for future advancements in financial inclusion and poverty reduction.

 

GlobalMicroCreditSummit2006.org