Year of Microcredit
to microcredit summits
Rebuilding lives shattered by disaster
The tsunami caused catastrophic loss of life and reversed the gains rural poor people had made to improve their lives
The tsunami that hit the coasts of Asia and Africa last December devastated some of the world's poorest and most fragile communities. It not only killed hundreds of thousands of fishers , farmers and other rural poor people, but destroyed the livelihoods of millions of others, reversing the gains they had made through hard work and pushing them into extreme poverty. When natural disasters strike, it is the poorest people who are most vulnerable, who endure the greatest hardships and who have the least ability to cope. more
From the President
A revitalized IFAD Update brings news to the extended IFAD family
Welcome to a renewed and revitalized IFAD Update, which builds on the traditions of this former IFAD publication. I hope you will enjoy reading and contributing to it, and I invite you to share it with others who want to know more about IFAD's work and the global fight to eradicate rural poverty. more
Banking on the International Year of Microcredit
A conference in Milan explores how commercial banks are offering essential financial services to poor people
Over the past 20 years, microfinance providers have developed the technology and experience to streamline the provision of savings, credit, insurance and other financial services to rural poor people. This has made it more attractive for commercial and cooperative banks to enter the market, benefiting rural poor people who can better manage their income and savings while supplying the banks with profits. more
In the mix
MIX Market web site helps IFAD monitor rural finance investments
Providing financial services to rural poor people is an important part of IFAD field operations. But until now it has been difficult to measure the impact of these efforts. A partnership between IFAD and a web site that compiles performance and outreach data on microfinance institutions (MFIs) offers a way to follow the progress being made by the organization's rural finance partners. This makes it easier to monitor the effectiveness of IFAD's investments. more
Going home after conflict
A documentary film recounts the joy and pain of returning to Burundi , a country torn apart by years of civil war
After more than a decade of civil war in his native Burundi , 25-year-old coffee farmer Philippe Mvuyekurye is on his way home from a refugee camp in the United Republic of Tanzania . In the Wake of War tells the story of how Mvuyekurye and other refugees are trying to rebuild their lives after years of fighting between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated Government and army. more
Just back from mission: Talking about the PBAS
The Performance-Based Allocation System is serving as a springboard for broad country discussions
As IFAD continues to explore how to implement the Performance-Based Allocation System (PBAS), discussion about its methodology is already serving as a starting point for informative country consultations. more
Learning from each other
A two-day workshop on knowledge-sharing brings together IFAD's regional networks for the first time
When IFAD established its first regional network, FIDAMERICA, in 1995, the idea was to use the power of the Internet to connect projects in Latin America and the Caribbean so they could exchange lessons learned. Since then, IFAD has started other regional networks while exploring different methods of sharing knowledge, for instance through farmer field schools. A workshop last October at IFAD headquarters gave participants a chance to look at the achievements so far and to make recommendations for the future. more
Modernizing human resources
A pilot study will help build careers, enhance performance management and encourage pay for performance
When President Båge formed a review committee in 2001 to find ways to modernize human resource management, one of the recommendations was to eliminate a culture of entitlement and move towards a culture of pay for performance. So when the International Civil Service Commission approached IFAD about joining a pilot study to review pay and benefits, the organization agreed. This new initiative will introduce greater flexibility and pay for performance, as well as nurture a results-oriented culture through enhanced performance management. more
In my opinion
Meeting the challenges of rural finance to help the poor
by Govindan Nair
Financial services are important to rural poor people so that they can mobilize savings, access credit to build physical and human capital, and reduce vulnerability to shocks. Most formal financial institutions choose not to serve the poor because of perceptions of the risks involved, the high costs of small transactions, relatively low profitability and the inability of the poor to provide collateral. As a result, many poor people resort to informal banking methods, such as village money lenders, which are generally less secure and more costly. more
Rural banks win scholarships to microcredit summits
More than a dozen small finance institutions share views on providing banking services to rural poor people
One of IFAD's priorities is to assist rural poor people in developing and strengthening their own organizations. Last year IFAD provided fundingto the Microcredit Summit Scholarship Programme so that rural financial institutions in the developing world could take part in two regional conferences. more
Breaking the poverty barrier
A bank in Haiti is using microcredit to reach the poorest of the poor
In 2003, IFAD awarded US$50,000 to Fonkoze, an alternative bank in Haiti , for its innovative work in providing savings, loans and remittance services to the rural poor. Today, the same bank is going one step further – helping the poorest of the poor benefit from microcredit. more
Listening to rural poor people
Farmers' organizations come to IFAD to explain their views on the challenges facing rural poor people more