Dear Peter,
Thanks a lot for letting us know about this particular distinction, of which I was not aware of.
Cheers! Maria-Sara :)
M.S. Jijon C.
President, WAM-Ecuador2009/11/2 Peter van Dijk
<petrusvandijk@...>
Dear all,
It is wonderful and surprising at the same time that the EU has an interest in Microfinance as it is undertaken outside of the European Union.
The EU makes a clear distinction in Microfinance:-
1. MF as a tool to fight social inclusion within the EU with subsidised loans to specifically targeted people (women, youth, unemployed, etc.). These activities are a part of the Social Development DG of the European Commission and
2. MF as a tool to build inclusive financial sectors outside of Western Europe.
The two different sectors have two separate fora, The European MF Platform (www.e-mfp.eu) is an association of donor agencies that define MF as a tool for building inclusive financial sectors in ‘developing countries’ (including the central European 'transition economies'). The European MF Network (www.european-microfinance.org) promotes microlending to marginalised citizens in Europe.
If I am not mistaken this clear distinction is also the result of opposition from commercial banks in the EU and maybe their regulators who want to avoid inappropriate use of financial terms that are legally protected and want to avoid unfair competition (by social microcredit organisations that offer 'zero interest rates' on loans such as ADIE promotes its activities in France).
I hope that IDLO and the participants understand the implications of the above distinction and I look very much forward to a report on the discussions and the recommendations / next steps.
Kind regards, Peter
