Spain to Host 2011 Global Microcredit Summit

June 19, 2009

The Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodriguez signed the official agreement between the Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation (AECI) and the RESULTS Educational Fund. Spain is the second largest bilateral donor to international microfinance.  The signing was presided over by Queen Sofia, the honorary co-chair of the Microcredit Summit Campaign.  She emphasized her belief that the Global Summit in 2011 will have a positive impact, improve the microfinance field, and help acheive the Millennium Development Goals.  Queen Sofia said that she hoped that the Global Summit will become a landmark in the economic and social development of the poor. The 2011 Global Summit in Valladolid, Spain is expected to bring together over 2,000 delegates, from over a hundred countries.

The first Global Summit, held in Washington in 1997, set a goal to ensure that 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially women, would receive microcredit and other financial and business services by 2005.  This target was nearly reached.  Therefore, a new campaign was launched in November of 2006, with two new goals: to work to ensure that 175 million of the poorest families receive credit for self-employment and other services, as well as working to raise the income of 100 million families above the dollar a day threshold.

To read more about the signing ceremony:

From Salamanca News, please click here.

From Once News, please click here.

From El Mundo News, please click here.

From ADN, please click here.

From La Cerca news, please click here.

From EcoDiario news, please click here.