Britain's Credit Union Leaders Embrace Financial Inclusion Challenge

What do financial inclusion, a wedding engagement and WOCCU's CEO all have in common?

They all took center stage at the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) Annual General Meeting in Blackpool, England, March 24- 26.

More than 500 delegates at the conference were eager to learn about credit union advocacy in the area of financial inclusion, as British credit unions were starting to apply for a portion of £36 million allocated by the government for improving access to affordable credit. Speakers discussed current progress in financial inclusion and the role of credit unions in the initiative, while workshops offered the opportunity to reflect upon the implementation of research findings by those working in the sector. The growth fund, managed by Britain's Department for Work and Pensions, aims to increase the availability of affordable credit. It must be used for lending, but a proportion of the fund is also available for costs incurred in lending.

WOCCU CEO Pete Crear gave the credit union activists an international perspective of the credit union movement. He shared about WOCCU's current projects in Kenya, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, and the challenges they encounter. Roger Marshall, Head of Credit Unions at the Financial Services Authority, expanded on new regulatory challenges as credit unions expand their services.

"This [was] an ideal time for credit unions to meet and discuss the many opportunities and challenges that are now facing the movement," ABCUL CEO Mark Lyonette said. "I'm sure that [the] weekend's speakers, workshops, and discussions added to the enthusiasm and ambition of ABCUL credit unions, as they take on the challenge of providing quality credit union services for the people of Britain."

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.