11.09.2006 ET

(CSRwire) New York City, NY - Two leading microfinance institutions and a program that develops innovative models to measure how the lives of microfinance clients have changed are the 2006 winners of Grameen Foundation's Microfinance Awards.

LAPO of Nigeria will receive the Excellence in Microfinance Award and Pro Mujer Bolivia will receive the Pioneer in Microfinance Award on November 9, 2006, at Grameen Foundation's annual Microfinance Awards Dinner at the Terrace in the Sky Restaurant in New York City. A third award will be introduced and presented to the Ford Foundation's Asset Building & Community Development Program.

"Our partner microfinance institutions are the bedrock of our efforts to empower the poorest people around the world to escape poverty through entrepreneurship," said Alex Counts, Grameen Foundation president. "We are proud to honor LAPO and Pro Mujer Bolivia for their pioneering work and resourcefulness."

Microfinance is a proven poverty reduction strategy. Very poor people, mostly women, receive very small loans to start income producing businesses. The income allows them to improve their lives and help their families overcome the ravages of severe poverty.

Grameen Foundation's Microfinance Awards honor those who fight global poverty through microfinance. The program celebrates excellence and ingenuity in the industry, fosters knowledge exchange among those expanding the frontiers of microfinance and advocates for innovation and creativity. The awards dinner was first held in 2000 and has been held annually since 2002.

The Excellence Award recognizes established microfinance institutions that have distinguished themselves as industry leaders for their overall achievement in outreach to the poorest, financial performance, and innovations that benefit their institution and the broader industry.

The specific objective of Excellence Award recipient LAPO is to promote self-employment through access to microfinance. LAPO's clients are among the poorest people in the urban and rural areas where it operates. While microfinance is its lead program, LAPO believes that for meaningful impact, the provision of financial services should be supplemented with social development programs, such as health programs and programs that confront social injustice.

"A staggering 34 of the world's 48 poorest countries are in Africa, and over 40 percent of Africans live in abject poverty," said Counts. "LAPO has been a powerful advocate for making microfinance a key weapon in the fight against poverty on the continent, and a key driving force in making financial services available to more than 65,000 poor Nigerians. It is this drive and commitment that has earned them the 2006 Grameen Foundation Excellence in Microfinance Award."

The Pioneer Award recognizes emerging programs breaking new ground as innovators or working in regions that have been traditionally underserved by quality microfinance programs.

Pioneer Award recipient, Pro Mujer Bolivia, is the first and largest affiliate of Pro Mujer International, a microfinance network dedicated to empowering Latin America women to lift themselves out of poverty through access to microfinance and health services.

Pro Mujer Bolivia is Pro Mujer's flagship program, and the foundational model on which all the other country programs have been built. Ranging in age from 18 to 67, most clients have four to six children, and are often single parents. They typically have been excluded from educational opportunities beyond elementary school. A majority of clients reside in small cities and engage in commercial activity, very often in local markets or selling goods produced in home-based businesses.

"As the flagship affiliate for Pro Mujer International, Pro Mujer Bolivia has been a pioneer in showing how microfinance can be an important vehicle for social change," said Counts. "Through its unique model of centralized centers, it is helping impoverished women access not only financial services, but also essential health care and social services for their families. Their work is an inspiration to others and Grameen Foundation is proud to recognize them with our 2006 Pioneer in Microfinance Award."

This year, Grameen Foundation introduced a new award, the Innovation Award, which recognizes outstanding organizations whose innovative approach to a microfinance industry challenge helps the entire movement.

The recipient of the first Innovation Award is the Ford Foundation's Asset Building & Community Development Program, which helps strengthen and increase the effectiveness of people and organizations working to find solutions to problems of poverty and injustice.

In conjunction with the Microfinance Awards Dinner, Grameen Foundation will host its annual Knowledge Sharing Roundtable. The Roundtable, which takes place earlier in the day on November 9 at Columbia University, presents a thoughtful and compelling exchange on issues, developments and trends that are advancing the microfinance sector as a major tool in bringing balance to the world economy.

This year's theme is Microfinance, Innovation and Technology ... Tackling Global Poverty.

Roundtable participants include Grameen President, Alex Counts; Board of Directors Chair, Susan Davis; recipients of the 2006 Microfinance Awards; and Columbia University's Microfinance Working Group.

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