Speaking at the licensing ceremony, the SBV leader affirmed that microfinance is acknowledged globally as an effective tool for poverty reduction in developing countries such as Vietnam.
He also added that forming a sustainable microfinance system will create a channel for bringing capital and banking services to low-income groups and small-scale enterprises.
M7-MFI is the result of merging three social funds in the M7 Microfinance Network including the Uong Bi Fund for Promoting Women that was set up in 2004, and the Mai Son Support Fund for Ethnic Women and the Dong Trieu Women’s Assistance Fund, both established in 2007.
These three institutions have been providing microfinance services to around 37,000 poor and low-income people, primarily women, and their families in 38 communes of Son La and Quang Ninh provinces, which has contributed to the national poverty alleviation strategy and improved the lives and status of Vietnamese women.
M7-MFI is the second microfinance body to be licensed in Vietnam, following the Tinh Thuong one member limited liability Microfinance Institution (TYM Fund) founded by the Vietnam Women’s Union, which was licensed by the SBV on August 25, 2010.
