MPDF was instrumental in helping the National Bank of Cambodia host a summit on the future of microfinance in Cambodia. Its objective was to disseminate the importance of microfinance to local authorities.
The “Reaching New Heights” summit brought over 400 lenders, investors, and donors together to gain shared understanding and increased awareness on insurance, deposits, remittances, information sharing, mobile phone banking and deposit insurance experiences from around the globe. The core of all discussions revolved around how international experience could apply to the Cambodian context, and how the NBC and other government entities could promote sector consolidation and greater integration with the banking sector. Developing new products for poor and low-income clients, leveraging technology to lower costs and extend outreach, and improving cooperation among funders were also key issues.
Discussions were then formulated into action plans, with legal and/or institutional constraints duly noted. The overall conclusion from the discussions was that problems encountered in the development of markets, products, and infrastructure were primarily technical and operational, and that these issues would have to be rectified for regulators to significantly contribute. Furthermore, lack of local currency availability and the need for clarification on ownership of MFIs were commonly identified as significant constraints to industry development.
By the end of the two-day summit, all stakeholders shared a common vision and detailed concrete actions to be undertaken by each group. MPDF was requested by the industry to develop a private credit bureau solution for micro and retail loans. MPDF committed to exploring new options to increase local currency access in Cambodia, as well as considering what role we could play in sector consolidation by promoting mergers and by introducing micro-insurance and other new products.
