Strategic Directions 2008-2013: Building Local Financial Systems That Work for the Poor

This paper sets out the broad strategic directions and organizational options for the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) starting in July 2008. The paper states that:

• New CGAP strategy is shaped by extensive consultations with:
  • CGAP members in the field and in headquarters;
  • All types of institutions that provide financial services for the poor, including microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks, MFI networks, governments, and other stakeholders in the microfinance industry.
• Inputs include:
  • A scenario-building exercise that analyzed five global forces impacting the future of financial services;
  • A global client survey;
  • An independent external mid-term evaluation of CGAP III;
  • A virtual conference on the future of microfinance and the role CGAP should play;
  • Focus groups with microfinance practitioners, donors, investors, and policymakers in Italy, Mali, Poland, Senegal, and South Africa;
  • Conference calls with CGAP constituencies.

The paper concludes that:

• Strategic directions and roles that the paper describes serve as a general compass for the next five years, but the fundamental priorities of CGAP's work will remain steady.
• In the next five years, CGAP will consolidate and reinforce what CGAP III has accomplished, and will push this work deeper in areas that concern:
  • Financial service providers;
  • The financial market infrastructure;
  • Government policy;
  • The effectiveness of funding.