EXCERPT OF MEETING

 


 

The Expert Meeting to Formulate Basic Guideline on Microfinance was successfully conducted on 8-12 March 2004 in NAM Centre Building, Jakarta.  The meeting was co-sponsored by the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The participation of IDB in the meeting was in line with IDB mission in providing technical assistance and project financing for developing countries. Such joint programme conducted by NAM CSSTC and IDB was regarded as a positive cooperation among member countries of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) who share a common concern in advancing the development in the South.

In line with the main objective of the meeting, a number of experts from different regions in NAM member countries and from Islamic countries members of IDB/OIC were invited to formulate a basic guideline on microfinance. The participating experts came from Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

During the five-day meeting, the experts have conducted extensive exchange of views on key issues related to policy and technical aspects of microfinance. Deliberations of those issues were conducted on the basis of different experiences and microfinance practices in the participating countries. Two different groups were set up during the discussion, namely Group I: Discussion on Policy and Regulatory Environment for Microfinance Institution; and Group II: Discussion on Institutional Capacity Development of Microfinance Institution. At the end of the Meeting, each Group has concluded a report on the respective issues. The reports are included in the proceedings and published as the first draft of Basic Guideline on Microfinance.

As a part of the programme, the experts visited the microfinance village unit in Cisarua, West Java, one of the best areas of microfinance management. The programme was organized in cooperation with Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), a leading microcredit institution in Indonesia. The field visit was conducted as a comparative study, where the experts could learn a different type of microfinance activities, including best practices in Indonesia. The field visit was also aimed to give new experience to the experts on the application of different systems in daily operation.

As a follow up of the meeting, the participating experts will complete and review the first draft of Basic Guideline on Microfinance through further communication with the NAM CSSTC to finalize the draft. It is expected that within the period of two months, the NAM CSSTC will be able to publish the final Basic Guideline on Microfinance as a comprehensive reference for developing countries. Currently, the NAM CSSTC is in the process of finalizing the overall report and proceedings of the Meeting, to be further published as an official report in the form of written publication and CD ROM.