Here is some information on what Accion is doing in Asia:
Asia is one of the most impoverished regions in the world with over 65% of the population, or 2 billion people, living on less than $2 a day. In South Asia, the poorest sub-region, 85% of the population live on less than $2 a day and more than 500 million people are in a state of absolute deprivation with no access to clean drinking water, safe housing, or protection from diseases. In 2005, South Asia’s average GDP per capita was a meager $691 and is declining. Asia is a huge potential market for microfinance as the informal sector constitutes, on average, 30-40% of GDP, and yet, in most countries in this region, microfinance reaches less than one percent of the population.*
A Highlight of ACCION’s Work in Asia:
Reaching scale rapidly in microfinance is critical to extending access to reliable, inexpensive credit to the poor. To realize this goal, ACCION is recruiting local staff and partnering with local institutions to adapt our microfinance model to the needs of Indian and Chinese microentrepreneurs. ACCION is also in negotiations to register the Inner Mongolia Micro-Credit Company (IMCC) in the prefecture of Chifeng – population 5 million. ACCION’s business plan calls for developing three loan products tailored to the working capital needs of urban, rural and small business clients in Inner Mongolia.
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