Author(s):
Sam Daley-Harris

“Whenever you are in doubt… apply the first test. Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man (sic)
whom you may have seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be any use to him. Will he gain anything from it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? True development puts those first that society puts last.” -Mahatma Gandhi

By Mahatma Gandhi’s definition, international development has done a poor job of putting “those first that society puts last.” The global statistics are harrowing—mind-numbing for many. Nearly three times the population of Western Europe—1.2 billion people—live on less than $1 a day. More than 100 million children of primary school age are not in school. More than 29,000 children under five die each and every day from largely preventable malnutrition and disease.

For over six years the Microcredit Summit Campaign has relentlessly pursued its goal of reaching 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 2005. The Summit’s goal was adopted at the 1997 Microcredit Summit, held in Washington, D.C., and attended by more than 2,900 delegates from 137 countries. The Campaign has maintained 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, 2002, 2,572 microcredit institutions have reported reaching 67,606,080 clients, 41,594,778 of whom were among the poorest when they took their first loan. Of these poorest clients, 79 percent, or 37,677,080, were women. Eight hundred thirteen of these institutions submitted a 2003 Institutional Action Plan outlining their progress.

Assuming five persons per family, the 41.6 million poorest clients reached by the end of 2002 affected
some 208 million family members. In order to reach 100 million poorest families by 2005, the Campaign requires a 38 percent growth rate per year from its starting point of 7.6 million poorest families at the end of 1997. The growth from 26.8 million poorest clients at the end of 2001 to 41.6 million poorest clients at the end of 2002 represents a 55 percent growth over last year.

The Campaign’s overall growth of 447 percent between 1997 and 2002 now averages just over 40 percent per year. This year, the Campaign was able to verify data from 234 institutions, representing 35,837,356 poorest families or 86.2 percent of the total poorest reported. In last year’s report we were able to verify the data from institutions representing 81 percent of the poorest families counted. A complete appendix of the institutions verified this year can be found on page 27.