Asia Network Summit 2009

27-28 August 2009 | Singapore

Regional information sharing and collaboration between microfinance practitioner associations in Asia was further strengthened at the Asia Network Summit 2009 held in Singapore 27 – 28 August. Hosted by the BWTP Network and funded by the Citi Foundation, SEEP and ADA, the ANS 2009 was attended by representatives of 12 national level and 2 regional microfinance practitioner association from countries across Asia.

These national and regional microfinance networks, as representatives of microfinance providers in developing countries, play an increasingly important role in facilitating growth and development in microfinance. These networks are professional associations that represent a wide spectrum of microfinance providers and act as catalysts for change in the sector. The Asia Network Summit 2009 is a unique opportunity for networks based in Asia to talk about shared challenges and opportunities in the spirit of a shared goal of increasing access to financial services in the region.

These networks were:  

 - Afghanistan Microfinance Associations;    
 - The Banking With the Poor Network;     
 - Cambodia Microfinance Association;     
 - Centre for Microfinance (Nepal);     
 - China Association of Microfinance;    
 - The Credit and Development Forum (Bangladesh);    
 - Indonesia Microfinance Association;    
 - Lao Microfinance Working Group;    
 - Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association;   
 - Microfinance Council of the Philippines;    
 - Pakistan Microfinance Network;    
 - Sa-Dhan (India);  
 - South Asian Microfinance Network;  
 - Vietnam Microfinance Working Group.

The SEEP Network ‘Building Strong Networks’ Workshop

The Asia Network Summit began with a pre-event, ‘Building Strong Networks’, which was attended by nine microfinance networks and hosted by the SEEP Network. Predominantly attended by ‘nascent’ networks in the early stages of their growth, the workshop focused on some of the central challenges facing the development of effective practitioner networks including governance, operations, human resource management, financial viability, the provision of member services and external relations. The ‘Building Strong Networks’ workshop reaffirmed the shared challenges of networks, but also highlighted the challenges unique to different networks in what is a diverse microfinance landscape in Asia.

Please CLICK HERE for more Asia Network Summit 2009 Videos or access information on the proceedings here ANS 2009 Online Resources.