AFRICA ADVOCACY FORUM II
Microcredit – A Solution for Africa?
Following the second
Microcredit Summit, African Advocacy Forum II was organized on November 14,
2002, by the Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the LDCs (OSCAL),
in collaboration with the Office of the High Representative for the Least
Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing
States, and the Graduate Center of the City University of New
York.
The forum was co-chaired by Mr. Anwarul
K. Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the
Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing
Countries and Small Island Developing States, and H.E. Matia Mulumba Kamakula
Kiwanuka, Permanent Representative of Uganda to the United Nations. The
co-chairs were introduced by Mr. Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, on behalf of Ms.Yvette
Stevens, Special Coordinator of OSCAL.
Africa Advocacy Forum II
benefited from the high-level participation of Mrs. Isatou Njie Saidy, the Vice
President of the Gambia, Mrs. Hajiya Aisha M.S.Ismail, the Minister of Women
Affairs and Youth Development of Nigeria, and former first lady of Ghana, Mrs.
Nana Agyeman-Rawlings. Mr. Sam Daley-Harris, the Executive Director of
Microcredit Summit organization, representatives UN organizations, NGOs and
Academia, Young Professionals Association, as well as African practitioners who
attended the Microcredit Summit+5 also attended. Representatives from the Missions of
Japan and Finland to the United Nations participated to the Forum.
Participants put micro
finance issue into a global context by acknowledging the critical role of
microfinance in mobilizing resources for the implementation of NEPAD, by
highlighting the importance given to microfinance, as a tool for poverty
eradication, in General Assembly resolution 52/194 of December 1997; the
Monterey Conference on Financing for Development (March 2002) and by recalling
the ECOSOC resolution 1998/28 that dedicated year 2005 as an international year
of microfinance. To the question
Microcredit – A Solution for Africa?
They responded, YES, a solution but not the
Solution.
Consensus emerged that
successful microfinance operations relied upon the existence of enabling
environment, consisting of efficient and adequate infrastructures; health
related schemes, among other things insurance mechanisms; adequate regulatory
framework; sound macro-economic environment and financial stability, and a
greater involvement of civil society.
The informal economy, which
represents more than half of the African economies, should be put at the heart
of the development process in the region. As far as the outreach of microfinance
is concerned, it was also mentioned that youth, women, poorest of the poor, and
rural population had not received enough attention and
focus.
The forum recommended that
the microfinance operations should capitalize on the existing African knowledge
and practises while learning from other countries’ experiences. In the same
vein, there was a suggestion to create a unified front of African microfinance
institutions, researchers, trainers and financial supporters to network at the
Micro credit Summit and other international fora to support African
practitioners. Impact assessment
was pointed out as an important tool to assess the progress made in reaching the
goals of microfinance.