Microcredit summit

Of course, hartal took some of the lustre off the occasion. It may have caused a degree of inconvenience to the delegates. The organisers had pleaded with the AL to curtail hartals for the duration of the summit and fret that this unforeseen variable could be the sole wrinkle in an otherwise faultless preparation, but to no avail.

However, the hartal notwithstanding, the conference is an opportunity for the Bangladesh microcredit sector to shine. We have shown the world that, through microcredit, self-reliant economic activity can be organised among the poor. Nevertheless, it is also true that experience has shown that, while microcredit is a useful tool to fight poverty, it alone is not the answer.

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The focus of this week's summit should be on how to adapt microcredit financing programmes to the need for reaching even more people, specially the ultra-poor. For instance, how microcredit can be refocused on creating employment and opportunity that go beyond the recipient of the loan is one area that can fruitfully be explored.

The first two millennium development goals are to reduce by half the number of people living on less than $1 dollar a day and the number who suffer from hunger. If the microcredit summit could integrate working towards achieving these goals to its focus, it would be a great accomplishment.