NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

MANILA — World Bank president Jim Yong Kim will open the 2013 Microcredit Summit: Partnerships against Poverty on October 9 with a recorded statement urging the nearly 800 delegates from 69 countries to commit themselves to the advancement of microfinance to end extreme poverty.

The World Bank’s two new goals to end extreme poverty by the year 2030 and to increase the incomes of the poorest 40 percent “are now the central purpose and moral underpinnings of our institution,” explained World Bank President Kim.

“To achieve this bold vision, all of us will have to work together, including civil society, as well as our public and private sector partners. The many organizations involved in the Microcredit Summit Campaign and the 100 Million Project are making important contributions to these goals…Together we can achieve an important milestone in human history. A world that is free—truly free—from extreme poverty,” he added.