State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2007

Reviewing progress on reaching 100 million of the world's poorest families

This Microcredit Summit Campaign report discusses the human face of global poverty. Delegates to the 1997 Microcredit Summit in Washington DC had set a goal to reach 100 million of the worlds poorest families by the end of 2005. The report outlines progress made on this goal by reviewing end of 2006 data. It takes a look at breakthroughs in reaching Africas poor and the controversy surrounding the Compartamos IPO. The report includes the following information:

As of end 2006, 3,316 microcredit institutions reported reaching 133,030,913 clients;
Loans to 92.9 million poorest clients benefit a total of 464.6 million people, including both clients and their family members.

The report states that microfinance is a powerful tool to fight global poverty. It helps the poor build self confidence and believe in the institutions that provide them with financial services. Microcredit works well with other development interventions that promote health, nutrition, housing, democracy and education, offering dignity and empowerment to the very poor. The Microcredit Summit Campaign has set measurable goals regarding access to credit and poverty reduction for 2015.