REDCAMIF Commits to Promoting Cliente Protection in Central American and the Caribbean
Washington, DC, November 2, 2010 – The Smart Campaign, a global initiative to incorporate strong client protection practices across the microfinance industry and the SEEP Network, a global microenterprise network membership organization announced a new partnership today with REDCAMIF, the network of microfinance associations in Central America. As part of the USAID funded Network Strengthening for Client Protection Project, which aims to recruit 20 networks for a one year project that will provide extensive training and support, the three organizations will work together to promote and institutionalize client protection amongst microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven of the countries REDCAMIF works within Central America and the Caribbean: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
REDCAMIF was founded with the goal of promoting microfinance and its impact on economic and social development in Central America, as well as to influence and encourage policies and regulatory standards that benefit and strengthen the microfinance sector in Central America.
REDCAMIF is kicking off this collaboration by participating in two upcoming trainings to be held in January 2011 in Mexico City, Mexico: the Client Protection Principles Training and the Smart Assessor Training.
"Client protection is an important element of the regional microfinance strategy of REDCAMIF. We want to keep clients first in microfinance and return to the basics in order to create lasting and healthy microfinance institutions." said Juan Jose Lagos, President of REDCAMIF.
The trainings aim to work with a select group of microfinance leaders from regional and national microfinance networks. They will provide REDCAMIF’s microfinance team with the necessary tools to orient their members in the implementation of client protection principles within microfinance institutions as well as how to conduct in-depth client protection assessments of the current practices of member institutions with regards to the client protection principles.
"SEEP is excited to work with REDCAMIF, they are certainly the best placed institution in Central America and the Caribbean to push client protection forward in the region and in doing so, strengthening the industry as a whole," said Diana Dezso, Program Director of Network Development Services at The SEEP Network.
"The Campaign is thrilled to contribute to strengthening networks such as REDCAMIF, in order to aid in the promotion of quality financial services to all microentreprenuers in Central America and the Caribbean," said Isabelle Barrès, Director of The Smart Campaign.Contact:
Sergio Guzman, The Smart Campaign: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Cara Forster, SEEP Network: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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About The Smart Campaign
The Smart Campaign is a global campaign consisting of microfinance leaders from around the world who believe that protecting clients is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. By providing microfinance institutions with the tools and resources they need to deliver transparent, respectful, and prudent financial services to all clients, The Smart Campaign is helping the industry achieve its two goals of helping clients and attaining long-term financial success, as well as making microfinance a model of responsible banking around the world.
About SEEP
The Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network connects microenterprise practitioners from around the world to develop practical guidance and tools, build capacity, and help set standards to advance our common vision: a sustainable income in every household.
In 1985, SEEP was founded by a group of practitioners who believed that sharing practical experiences within a trusting environment would result in improved microenterprise development practices. Today, our members are active in over 180 countries and reach over 23 million micro-entrepreneurs and their families. SEEP’s most valuable resource is the experience of its members and their commitment to collaboration. This exchange utilizes problem solving, experimentation, and peer-to-peer learning in order to identify common obstacles and develop solutions for reducing poverty.
About REDCAMIF
The initiative to create a REDCAMIF was born in July 1999 and since then they have structured various mechanisms of coordination among microfinance networks in each country. It was legally incorporated in September 2002. The Central American Microfinance Network was founded with the aim of promoting the microfinance industry and its impact on economic and social development in Central America, as well as to influence and promote policies and regulatory standards that benefit and strengthen the microfinance sector in Central America.
