AUGUST 2008
A Letter from Mary Ellen
Dear WWB Network Members,
Greetings from WWB New York. I am writing to communicate an important change in plans that affects all network members and the WWB global team. As you know, the WWB Global Meeting is a seminal industry event, allowing the WWB network to share best practices and discuss emerging trends in microfinance with each other and the sector at large. I was very much looking forward to hosting my first Global Meeting this November. We had chosen Bangalore, India, as the venue and I know from speaking with many of you that you shared our excitement at showcasing the network members in India. Unfortunately, on the very day that we planned to reserve hotel space and send out the Save the Date announcement, bombs went off at seven crowded locations in Bangalore, followed the next day by four more bombs in Ahmedabad. One of the Bangalore bombs happened to be on the same street as our Global Meeting host, Ujjivan.
I am glad to report that no one associated with the WWB network was hurt in the bombings. I immediately discussed the situation with the Executive Committee of the SWWB Board. We concluded that because low-level tensions and further unrest were expected to continue across India over the next several months, we had no choice but to look for another venue. At this late stage, finding a new site for November proved too difficult, and we had to make the difficult decision to postpone the Global Meeting to 2009.
While I am truly disappointed at the postponement, I hope you will agree with me that the safety of our 150+ guests comes first. The global team is committed to continuing the network member consultations that we began this year so that we remain on schedule to finalize the new network structure, eligibility criteria, performance standards and cost-sharing structure by year-end 2008. I will have more information about our updated schedule as well as the new date and locale for the Global Meeting shortly.
Taking a break from my travels, I recently came back to NY to welcome both women managers from our network institutions and network members for a week of very productive events. In mid-July 35 women from network member organizations attended our Women in Leadership workshop, a five-day training course delivered in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. The Women’s Leadership Development Program—of which the Women in Leadership workshop is a key component—helps ensure that women’s leadership remains an organizational priority as WWB network members and other peer institutions expand outreach and manage growth. WWB believes that women leaders are powerful role models for the low-income women they serve, and have a strong commitment to the empowerment of these clients. We also believe that attaining diversity at all decision-making levels is essential to institutional success—because it makes good business sense. Research done by Catalyst confirms these assertions: companies that have higher women's representation on their top management teams financially outperformed those companies with lower women's representation, and on average top-performing companies have a higher representation of women on their leadership teams.
Many participants left with a new commitment to becoming leaders within their institutions. One particularly inspiring participant, Ann Mulindwa from Uganda Finance Trust, wants to take what she has learned and use it to help her colleagues. “I want to go back and see how I can inspire other women. I want to be the kind of leader who makes other leaders. Now, any challenge in leadership that comes to me, I can handle.” We wish the participants success as they integrate what they learned during the week into their institutions and leadership goals.
As the workshop was taking place, several of our network member leaders were participating next door in two events which are critical to our development as a network. Mercedes Canalda, Clara Akerman, Humaira Islam, Viji Das, Cecilia del Castillo and René Azokli graciously offered their time to participate in a conversation to continue the work of the Network Member Task Force in the process of redefining what it means to be a member of the WWB network. As I mentioned last month, the task force is meticulously updating our principles and standards to reflect a renewed commitment to being the preeminent voice of women in microfinance.
This same group participated in a round table with the insurance company MBIA on technology in order to better understand the technology challenges of our member organizations and brainstorm ways in which technology can be used to create a greater connection between WWB New York and your institutions. We are grateful to them for volunteering their time for a thoughtful discussion in our effort to more closely link our network to our shared mission and I thank them for their participation.
One of the ways in which we hope to strengthen this connection is to publish your institutional successes on our web site, womensworldbanking.org. We have added a new page, accessible from our home page—The Network Member Corner— which will serve as a repository for updates, accolades, and news stories about WWB network members available on the web. The page has only recently debuted so please feel free to contact your relationship manager if you have suggestions for content.
In other new web content, our beautiful 2007 annual report is available (PDF). I am delighted that we have a document that explains very clearly the way our network and organization works; I hope you find it useful as well. Hard copies will be distributed by your relationship manager, or can be requested by contacting Julie Slama, WWB’s talented Executive Editor. Thanks to all of you who shared stories or photos that give this report its richness.
I am also pleased to announce the approval of a loan guarantee for FUNBODEM to support US$ 1 million in revolving credit from Banco de Crédito in Bolivia. FUNBODEM has experienced rapid growth—32 percent in 2006 and 37 percent in 2007—while maintaining high quality customer service and excellent portfolio quality, and has consistently met or exceeded WWB performance standards. This also allows us to diversify our loan guarantee program, adding to existing loans in Colombia and Bosnia.
Last month I promised an update on my visit to Banco da Familia in Brazil. They have made great progress in the past several years in a market that has been dominated by consumer lenders. For example, in 2007 they grew at a rate of 52 percent. With plans to expand further throughout the south of Brazil this year, the organization is predicting growth in 2008 of 30 percent. In light of this growth, they face a challenge common among MFIs globally—recruiting staff, particularly in Brazil’s relatively young microfinance market. Their credit officers face an additional challenge—analyzing the credit risk of customers who have become over-indebted due to consumer loans offered in installments at a high interest rate. This puts pressure on credit officers to improve their analysis and creates an incentive for the organization to move away from urban areas to regions where the population spends less on consumer goods and may be more fertile for microfinance.
Finally, I would like to introduce you to the members of the newly-nominated SWWB Board of Trustees. This new board is the culmination of an extensive governance restructuring that took place during the last year. The incoming board will be made up of 11 members: five network member Trustees and six independent Trustees; two-thirds of the board will be composed of returning members. This new board includes network member Trustees: Jennifer Riria, Clara Akerman, Humaira Islam, Diana Medman and welcomes new member Roshaneh Zafar; and independent Trustees: Mary Houghton, Marilou van Golstein, Inger Prebensen as well as new members Suzanne Nora Johnson, Sheila Hooda, and Sonia Dula.
The current board will serve until the new board is seated in November and elects the Board officers, including the Chair and Vice Chair. Michaela Walsh and Ela Bhatt will continue as honorary board members for life. I would like to offer the warmest thanks to those who will not continue but have given so much to WWB in their years of service: Connie Roveto, Burke Dillon, René Azokli, Fouad Abdelmoumni, Ranjit Fernando, Mercedes Canalda, Maricielo Glen de Tobon, Patricia Barron and Jayshree Vyas. In addition, while Sylvia Fung Chin will also be stepping down from the Board, she will continue to serve in a new capacity, as legal counsel to WWB.
I look forward to bringing you more news about your colleagues in the network and WWB’s accomplishments in the coming months.
Warm regards,
Mary Ellen
Quick Access
The report illustrates the accomplishments of WWB and our network members, united in our mission of improving the economic access and power of poor women microentrepreneurs, and thereby improving livelihoods and creating sustainable change.