International Year of Microcredit 2005 - Final Report

This document presents the final report on the International Year of Microcredit (referred to as ‘"the Year") prepared by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). The document lists the goals of ‘"the Year":

• To assess and promote the contributions of microcredit and microfinance to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);
• To increase public awareness and understanding of microcredit and microfinance;
• To promote inclusive financial systems;
• To support sustainable access to financial services;
• To encourage innovation and partnership.

The report details the activities of "‘the Year" that it clusters in the following four major areas:

• Communications;
• Partner engagement;
• Special events;
• Production of substantive outcomes including recommendations on how to move microfinance forward.

The report then details the following achievements of "‘the Year":

• Global response and interest;
• Active dialogue amongst various actors in the microfinance industry on providing financial services to poor people and micro and small enterprises;
• Active participation of 101 countries;
• Participation of 100 universities and their students;
• Organization of over 300 meetings, conferences, etc;
• Collaboration between international agencies;
• The establishment of two major initiatives:
  • The publication of the ‘"Blue Book" that addresses the challenges to building inclusive financial systems;
  • The ‘Data Project that involved major international financial institutions in addressing the gaps in data about the access of poor people to financial services.

The report concludes by providing information about the sources of financial support and sponsorship for ‘"the Year".