Some remarks from 1997.



THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 3, 1997



REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT THE MICROCREDIT SUMMIT


Sheraton Washington Hotel
Washington, D.C.




MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much. Thank you, choir, that was wonderful. I got to listen to you as I stood outside. I am thrilled to see such a turnout for this summit, which is one of the most important gatherings that we could have anywhere in our world, to talk about what is possible for raising the sights and aspirations of people, giving them the tools of opportunity, expanding access to credit and creating conditions in which men, women and children will be able to make for themselves better lives.

I'm very grateful to all who have made this summit possible, particularly to the co-chairs, to the heads of state who are gathered, to other distinguished guests, to the Results Educational Fund, to many of the private corporations and other foundations that have helped to sponsor this important gathering.

This is truly an historic occasion. Microfinance is a subject that is near and dear to all of our hearts who are gathered here. And this first global summit on microcredit offers an unprecedented opportunity for us to draw attention to the successes of microcredit in developing countries, as well as in applications in advanced economies around the world.

By bringing together experts from every continent we will be able to learn from each other's challenges and achievements, and apply those lessons within our own borders. I hope that this conference will engender new understanding of microcredit and its potential to transform the lives of individuals, their families, their communities and their nations.

Although it is called "microcredit," this is a macro idea. This is a big idea, an idea with vast potential. Whether we are talking about a rural area in South Asia or an inner-city in the United States, microcredit is an invaluable tool in alleviating poverty, promoting self-sufficiency and stimulating economic activity in some of the world's most destitute and disadvantaged communities.

I first heard about microcredit more than a decade ago when my husband, then the governor of Arkansas, and I were involved in looking for ways to create economic opportunity in the poorest sections of one of the poorer states in the United States. We had heard about the work of the Gramine (sp) Bank in Bangladesh and about the work that the South Shore Bank in Chicago. And we reached out to representatives of both to explain to us how this idea of very small amounts of credit could make such a difference.

I remember well when we met with Mohammed Unis in the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock in 1986. We sat there and listened as he told us how the idea which he had had as an economics Ph.D. and then a teacher back in his home in Bangladesh began to be put into practice. He offered advice as the project in Arkansas got off the ground. Within a few years we, too, could see how the fruits of the



Good Faith Fund, as the project in Arkansas was called, were beginning to take root.

It was so contrary to conventional thinking about finance and economic development. And, yet, before our eyes and based on reports from Bangladesh and India and Chicago and elsewhere, we knew something important was happening that had escaped the notice of many who worked in development, of many who were in finance departments of governments. And both my husband and I were determined that the concept of microcredit would have universal relevance. We looked for ways to apply microcredit in America, taking the best of the principles and values that it represented, but making it sure that it could be put into practice in different settings.

Now, more than 10 years later, we can look around this room, from one end to the other, and appreciate the power of Mohammed Unis' vision. And we can celebrate the courage and dedication it has taken on the part of all of you today -- pioneers in microfinance, lenders in microcredit enterprises, representatives of government and private business and foundations and grass-roots community organizations from all over the world -- the courage that it took to come and understand how the conventional wisdom about poor people and economic opportunity was no longer adequate. (Applause.)

To really understand the significance of this summit one must recognize that you are here because you have broken a paradigm, you have gotten out of the conventional box of thinking about the poor, about economic opportunity, about the partnership between the public and private sector. It is this type of unconventional thinking that we need more of in our world today, to address the problems that all of us confront. (Applause.)

I know those of us here understand that microcredit is a tool -- not the only tool, but we believe an important tool available to promote economic and social development. We have seen with our own eyes in the last several decades how the global economic revolution has transformed lives, many for the better. People with opportunities in places that never thought or dreamed they could see clean water, roads, their children attending school, access to health care.

And yet, we also know that global economic change has not only made winners, it has made losers as well. And part of our challenge is how do we harness these vast forces of change for the benefit of all people, how do we ensure that no matter where one lives, no matter what race or ethnic background, no matter whether a man or a woman. It is the individual human being willing to work hard who will be given the opportunity if that person takes responsibility to seek and find a better life for themselves.

That is why this idea is important not only on its own merits and that we should work to spread it, be honest about what it can do, make changes where necessary, recognize that it has limitations. But the idea is not only important for what it is, but for what it represents when we put it into the context of the global economic changes that are sweeping through all of our countries. (Applause.)

The United States has long supported microcredit overseas through USAID. And I am pleased that the United States will continue to support microcredit programs and that I hope more American citizens will recognize how important it is to support the economic aspirations of our friends and neighbors around the globe. And one of the ways we will attempt to deliver that message is to demonstrate here within our own borders how microcredit can change the lives of Americans.

Indeed, we are beginning to spread microenterprise throughout the United States. It has to be tailored to our particular economic and social circumstances. And so it is by the very nature of the communities which it is working in going to be diverse -- offering different kinds of loans, resources and business assistance.

But I am pleased that the President, working with the Secretary of the Treasury whom you will hear from later, have recognized the important role that microcredit will play in economic development throughout our country in helping people who are currently on welfare in the United States find opportunities for their own economic self-sufficiency. And to that end, just this last week, the President and Secretary Rubin presented the first Presidential Awards for Excellence in Microenterprise Development. The awards recognize efforts within our country to extend credit and economic opportunity to Americans who otherwise lack the chance to become economically self-sufficient.

The awards also underscore the ripple effect that microcredit projects can create -- not only in lifting individuals out of poverty and moving mothers from welfare to work, but in creating jobs, promoting businesses and building capital in depressed areas.

The United States is also promoting microcredit through the Small Business Administration's Microloan Program -- a public-private partnership which has already awarded $70 million in grants to nonprofit organizations with nearly half of the loans granted going to women. The loans range from $125 to $25,000.

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MicroCredit

Brahmin Bank

Lends $1 million per day in the Third world.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS for poverty!


Joel

• "Poverty has a woman's face".
  

I have no doubt at all that if we can create a system of world trade that is fair as well as free, we will empower some of the poorest women in the poorest countries of the world. That is the experience of women in Bangladeshi villages who are supported by the Brahmin bank and by their Government in creating new enterprises. That is the experience of the women whom I met earlier this year in Nong Ta Kai village in north-east Thailand. Years ago, they worked in rice fields, their only hope of escape from poverty to flee to the city, where they were vulnerable to exploitation and to prostitution. Now, they have come together, like so many other women in Thailand, to create their own silk-weaving co-operative. They used to live in old wooden shacks—I saw some that were still there. Today, they are used for storage, because next to them are the modern two-storey houses that those women have paid for with the earnings from their own work and from their ownership of that co-operative.


So the opportunity is there—above all, because in November 2001 we launched the Doha development round. We—the 142 countries in the World Trade Organisation—launched it because we know that if we could just halve protectionism around the world against agricultural and industrial goods and services, we would boost developing country incomes by about $150 billion a year: three times the value of all the aid budgets put 6 Mar 2003 : Column 978

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MICROCREDIT

I hope this has some impact. The $3 Pepsi is sticking in my craw.

Joel

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