Microfinance Advocacy
World Bank and Microfinance: Underinvestment in the Very Poor
“Given the World Bank’s mission is to alleviate poverty, the Bank should provide increased funds for microfinance and make sure that half of those funds go to families living below $1 a day. If the Bank doesn’t do it, who else will? It’s the right thing to do.”
— Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Grameen Bank Managing Director
The Microcredit Summit Campaign, in collaboration with our parent RESULTS organization, has advocated for years in spreading the word around the globe about the importance of microfinance as a tool for alleviating poverty. One of the organizations that can play a major role in making the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a reality is the World Bank.
As the largest international lender for developing countries, the World Bank has an enormous ability to influence whether the world will achieve the MDGs. The Bank’s stated mission is “to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results.” However, the World Bank is investing very little in microfinance for those who live on less than $1 a day. World Bank president Robert Zoellick has the opportunity to steer the Bank in a new direction and reform policies in favor of pro-poor investments that will align Bank practices with its stated mission of alleviating poverty. The World Bank must increase its investment in microfinance for those living on less than $1 a day.
Microfinance is a proven and cost-effective tool to help the very poor lift themselves out of poverty and improve the lives of their families. However, despite microfinance’s proven success and the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s recognition of its power to end poverty and promote peace by awarding Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, the World Bank is spending little if any funding on microfinance for the very poor (those who live on less than $1 a day).
President Zoellick should seize this opportunity to rectify the inaction of his two predecessors by reforming the Bank’s microfinance investment policy:
* Increase World Bank investment in microfinance.
* Commit half of those funds to the very poor, those living below $1 a day.
* Require the use of cost-effective poverty measurement tools to ensure compliance.
* Report annually on results.
Help MCS and RESULTS continue to advocate for more investment and support from the World Bank. Call or write your local congressman, senator, parliamentarian, or even the World Bank itself and express your support for the reforms listed above.
Lobbying Efforts
Microcredit Summit Campaign’s partner RESULTS, is a nonprofit 501 (c ) 4 grassroots advocacy organization committed to creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. RESULTS is committed to individuals exercising their personal and political power by lobbying elected officials for effective solutions and key policies that affect hunger and poverty.
Landmark Legislation: Ensuring U.S. microenterprise assistance reaches the very poor.
RESULTS/REF was a leading organization urging Congress to pass the landmark Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004, which directs half of microfinance assistance to the very poor and requires the development of poverty measurement tools. Five years later, RESULTS/REF and key allies, such as Grameen Foundation, are working to ensure that USAID complies with this important mandate. RESULTS/REF is working with Congressional allies in 2009 to provide critical oversight to ensure funds benefit the very poor.
Funding RESULTS to empower change
RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund (REF) influence the policy debate on microfinance by:
• Expert speaking tours: RESULTS/REF sponsors expert speaking tours in order to build public support for microfinance through public community events and meetings with local leaders, members of Congress, and editorial boards.
• Congressional delegations: To provide policy makers and their staff with first-hand knowledge of microfinance, RESULTS/REF sponsors congressional and staff delegations to visit programs in the field, including Grameen and BRAC in Bangladesh and Jamii Bora in Kenya.
• Congressional briefings and reports: RESULTS/REF hosts briefings and organizes personal meetings for members of Congress and their staff with microfinance experts and practitioners. In addition, RESULTS/REF also produces oversight reports and recommendations to guide congressional policies on microfinance.
