Microlux participates to the 6th European Microfinance Day

Weathering the storm (credit EMN)

The impact of the various lockdown measures put in place across Europe to combat the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain for the months to come. For the microfinance sector, serving primarily self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs, the period of forced inactivity posed an unprecedented threat. Yet the sector convincingly demonstrated its resilience during this crisis, by coming together to overcome the financial pressures, by constantly learning from one another, and most importantly by working tirelessly to always stay in touch with the reality of the crisis for the underserved and financially excluded. This remarkable handling of the crisis has translated into innumerable initiatives that helped ensure business continuity, ranging from mass loan restructuring to remote coaching solutions, all the way to launching e-signature processes allowing the disbursement of loans under severely adverse conditions.

This edition of the European Microfinance Day is a celebration of this resilience, a great opportunity to look back at all these initiatives and show the level of care and dedication displayed in these trying times. For EMN General Manager Jorge Ramirez, it is also “a reminder to the broader audience that microfinance is all about its social impact and a great way to remind policymakers that public money invested in the sector results in net positive results thanks to the economic activity it enables”.

The coordinated efforts from the sector resulted in various support measures being adopted at the European level. In July, the European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF) unveiled their enhanced terms under the EaSI Guarantee Instrument to support micro and social enterprises in response to COVID-19. Two months later, in September, the EIB Group launched a €25 billion high-volume short-term Pan-European Guarantee Fund to support SME liquidity during the crisis.

With such a display of resilience and coordination, the European microfinance sector seems well-equipped for the hardship of the months to come. Combined with other great assets such as the upcoming European Microfinance Overview Survey or the various projects launched in relation to the crisis, it is ready to reliably weather the storm side by side with those excluded from the conventional banking system.

source : press release from European Microfinance Network (EMN) and Microfinance Centre (MFC)

---------------------

microlux contributes to the EMD campaign with two online actions :

9th-20th November: Honour microlux's local partners and highlight their constant support toward our missions on our social media channels.

• LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/company/microlux-luxembourg
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/microluxluxembourg/
• Twitter:  twitter.com/microlux_lu

Mid-November: Facebook Live session : Presentation of microlux's microcredits solutions and new developments.

Be sure to follow us and stay tuned !