Introducing China Association of Microfinance and Mr. Bai Chengyu

My friend and fellow Wokai-er, Sam, sent me a link to a Chinese blog on Microfinance: http://microfinance.bokee.com/

I was really impressed by the articles posted there (disclaimer: I am not in a competition to promote that site). The author, Mr. Bai Chengyu (白澄宇), is the director of a semi-government MF trade group, China Association of Microfinance (CAM).

Reading from its website, CAM is supported by Citibank, China Academy of Social Science and Ministry of Commerce's International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges. Besides Mr. Bai, Mr. Du Xiaoshan, a well-known pioneer in MF in China, is also a board member.

The mission of CAM, roughly translated, is to:

• Coordinate on policy issues, develop a conducive policy environment to promote the growth of microfinance, offer policy consultations
• Assist State financial regulators to provide industry census data, help to develop best practices and guidance for the industry
• Provide services for information exchange and human resources development
• Provide training for MF practitioners, raise level of competence
• Seek international cooperation to cultivate capital and other resources to expand the industry

(excerpts from http://www.chinamfi.net/intro_aboutsite.asp)

The site has a English link but it is broken. So in the following days, I will post some of the news, updates and reports I found on the site. I will also translate and summarize some of the essays Mr. Bai wrote on his blog (http://microfinance.bokee.com)