The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has disbursed
microcredit, nearing US$20 million, to more than 300,000 clients
all over China since 1994, its Beijing office said Tuesday.
Helped by the China International Center for Economic and
Technical Exchange (CICETE), the program
first established grassroots Rural Development Associations (RDAs)
in the southwestern Yunnan Province, which gradually spread to 48
counties in 16 provinces.
Training, participation, and empowerment are at the core of UNDP
microcredit projects, the office said in a statement.
In addition to the disbursement of funds, the UNDP supports
capacity development to provide clients with business and life
skills, thus empowering them to realize the full potential of the
loans.
With this explicit core strategy, and by successfully targeting
and reaching the poorest people, the projects have achieved good
repayment rates and demonstrated the potential of microcredit as an
effective tool for poverty reduction in China, the statement
said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2005)