english inglés anglais - Global Microcredit Summit 2011

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October 17, 2011
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and RESULTS Educational Fund, it is our pleasure to
welcome you to Valladolid, Spain for the Global Microcredit Summit 2011!
When thousands of delegates gathered for the original Microcredit Summit in 1997, only 7.6 million of
the world’s poorest families were receiving a microloan. Over the last 14 years, the number of very poor
families with a microloan has grown more than 18-fold to 137.5 million by the end of 2010. Additionally,
the number of poorest women reached between 1999 and 2010 has increased from 10.3 million to 113.1
million.
However, the current moment we are facing in microfinance reflects the opening lines from Charles
Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness…” Never before has there been such inspiring innovation in the field of
microfinance, nor such cause for concern. This Summit will set the back-drop for substantive discussions
on the state of the field and will provide opportunities to discuss our hopes and visions for the field’s
future.
At this gathering, we will share best practices, work to accelerate innovation and review progress towards
the Microcredit Summit Campaign’s two goals for 2015:
1) Ensuring that 175 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families,
are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business services.
2) Ensuring that 100 million families rise above the US$1.25 a day threshold adjusted for
purchasing power parity (PPP), between 1990 and 2015.
Since April of 2010, the Campaign has been working with a broad range of stakeholders to develop a
Seal of Excellence for Poverty Outreach and Transformation in Microfinance. The Seal will be discussed in
a plenary at this Summit. Our hope is that the Seal will not only identify best practices in our common
work to end poverty, but also motivate our members to constantly reflect on what more they can do
to reach further down-market, helping clients, their families, and their communities move away from
poverty.
Valladolid will be the 15th and last global or regional Summit that I, Sam, have organized. On January 1,
2012, I will launch the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation. Larry, who authored the State
of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2011 and has worked closely on the development of the Seal,
is the Campaign’s incoming director. Larry and I remain dedicated to the Campaign’s goals and realize
that reaching them is a huge challenge that will take the whole microfinance community working together
to achieve.
We wish you a fruitful and rewarding Summit and that you leave with a renewed commitment to your
deepest vision for using microfinance as a platform for ending poverty.
Sincerely,
Sam Daley-Harris, Director Larry Reed, Incoming Director
Microcredit Summit Campaign Microcredit Summit Campaign
Global Microcredit Summit 2011