KATHMANDU, Nov 30: Center for Self-help Development (CSD) is hosting two-day ‘Second National Microfinance Members’ Summit’ in Kathmandu from Saturday.
Organizing a press meet on Thursday, the organizers said that the summit will bring together over 700 participants from across the country, mainly to discuss about the overall situation of microfinance sector, achievements, prospect, problems and challenges faced by microfinance service providers and beneficiaries.
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“This is probably the first of its kind summit in Nepal that is aimed at providing a forum not only for microfinance service providers or members of microfinance institutions, but also the beneficiaries,” Shankar Man Shrestha, chairman of CSD, said in the press meet. “The beneficiaries who have not found the forum to put forth their voices will find ears of policymakers in the summit,” he said, adding that the summit will discuss wide-range of themes ranging on ways to instill an entrepreneur mindset in members of microfinance institutions as well as protection of members, and duplication of loans, among others.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli is scheduled to inaugurate the summit, which is being organized with the slogan ‘Clean Microfinance, Our Campaign’, on Saturday.
“There are concerns that microfinance sector in Nepal is going off the track in the wake of rise in the number of micro finance institutions. Participants will rigorously discuss on whether microfinance institutions are losing their social enterprise value in the pursuit of profit,” he said, adding that the summit is being convened with their capacity, resources and expertise of the country’s microfinance sector. “The summit will be crucial in finding ways to avoid any possible crisis in the microfinance sector.”
