Egypt's Social Fund for Development (SFD) is sending a high-level delegation to take part in the 18th Microcredit Summit in UAE. The delegation will be headed by Soha Soliman, SFD's Secretary-General. The SFD was established by Presidential Decree 40/1991 as a socio-economic safety net to combat unemployment, alleviate poverty, improve living conditions and help attain comprehensive socio-economic development. Under the rubric ‘Frontier Innovations in Financial Inclusion', the Summit will run from March 14 to 17 at the Jumeirah Etihad Towers. It is jointly organised by UAE Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (Agfund), and the Microcredit Summit Campaign. Global policy makers and microfinance experts will convene in Abu Dhabi to explore and discuss innovative financial inclusion strategies that can create clear pathways to economic and social inclusion. Soliman will take part in a session entitled "Empowering Women through Financial Inclusion: Measuring our Impact". This session will discuss methods to measure impact and the tools and resources that can improve women's social inclusion and increase their economic empowerment. It will also delve into innovations that are helping close the gender gap in financial inclusion and ways to improve access, capabilities, and usage for women. The event will explore how new and effective financial policies can contribute to the success of the Universal Financial Access 2020 goal, the World Bank 2030 goals, and the UN Global Goals. It will recognise more than 35 campaign commitments launched throughout 2015 by members of the campaign. Their commitments describe specific programs they will deliver in the next 12-18 months that improve people's lives through enhanced opportunity and financial and social inclusion. The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has signed up as a sponsor of the summit. Both Khalifa Fund and AMF will enrich the Summit agenda with their experience in developing sustainable economic growth in the MENA region.
