In honour of the UN International Year of Microcredit, the Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (CEP), with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), recently held the CEP Microfinance Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The conference marked one of the rare occasions when microfinance practitioners and stakeholders from across Vietnam came together to discuss issues pertinent to the industry. In addition to Vietnamese participants, the Conference welcomed participants from Laos and Cambodia. Professor Muhammad Yunus also took part in the conference and was able to provide guidance on many of the issues confronting microfinance in Vietnam.
 CEP Managing Director, Ms. Van Nguyen, together with Professor Yunus, flanked by CEP staff members, Phong Hoang and Khuong Le at the CEP Conference in June.
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June, 2005 was an opportune moment for a microfinance conference to be held in Vietnam, not only due to the importance of the United Nations Year of Microcredit, but also because of the introduction of a regulatory framework for the microfinance industry in Vietnam. In March 2005, the Government of Vietnam issued a decree legalizing organisation and operation of microfinance institutions in Vietnam. This decree provides the first regulatory framework developed specifically for microfinance institutions. The CEP Conference permitted the participants to discuss the new decree together with the central theme of the conference: ‘the achievements and potential of the microfinance industry in Vietnam in attaining its primary goal of reducing poverty’.
Report by Van Nguyen Thi Hoang, Managing Director, CEP Fund
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