Second national microfinance summit in Feb

KATHMANDU: Center for Microfinance (CMF) is organizing the national microfinance summit second time in Nepal. CMF is coordinating with stakeholders for the summit which will be held from February 14 to 16 in the capital.

CMF has formed a 31-member national steering committee (NSC) from member organizations while 13 members are in the working committee. Nepali microfinance institutions, international and national non-governmental organizations, government bodies and experts will participate in the summit.

There will be 800 participants in the conference, said Dr Harihar Dev Pant, chairman of NSC. “Around 650 participants have registered so far,” he added. Around 25

papers on experiences in Nepali and global microfinance sectors will be presented at the summit.

The upcoming second summit will evaluate the progress after the first summit. There is ample progress in institutionalizing microfinance in Nepal after the first summit, said Tejhari Ghimire, chief executive officer of CMF. “Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) introduced microfinance policy immediately after the summit,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, the draft of a Microfinance Act is also under discussion among stakeholders while NRB is drafting a new policy paper to end economic disparities in the hills and the Tarai (southern plains of Nepal) regions.