An Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders Conference will be held in Erbil on October 3 and 4. The USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program, along with Iraq’s 12 institutions who deal with microfinance, will be holding the conference. The theme for the conference is ‘Transforming Inclusive Financial Services for Increasing Outreach.’
The forum will be composed of policy makers from Iraq, international rating institutions, donors, and commercial bankers. In addition, representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development will also be joining the forum.
Discussion on some important matters will be held in the conference. Some of the major topics of discussion include institutional reform, transparency, and governance. The forum will also discuss ways to effectively serve youth and women, while creating new products that depend on demand. Study topics will also include strategic business planning and the developing a credit bureau. Amongst the leading participants are Planet Rating, Shore Bank International and the Central Bank of Iraq.
Iraq’s microfinance industry has been actively providing micro loans, since 2003; till now, it has made 313,300 microloans, amounting to over $729 million. At present, Iraq’s microfinance industry has 84,000 clients, which include more than 16,218 women, having a total loan of $123 million.
