Transcript
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Barbara Stocking, Chief Executive, Oxfam GB.
BARBARA STOCKING:
You do need aid in the poorest countries because there’s no way that they can afford to put in the health and education services or even the agricultural development support that’s needed to help people get out of poverty. You need that as a base. And many of the countries, I think about the East Asian Tigers, have put a lot of energy and money in their early stages into making sure that, for example, there are good education systems.
NARRATOR:
A good educational system is the basis for the creation of competitive, viable jobs. Infrastructure that functions well attracts investors. Providing support to developing countries in these areas gives them the leverage they need to then help themselves.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Mo Ibrahim, African entrepreneur
MO IBRAHIM:
We need to focus on infrastructure, the arteries of commerce of trade we’ll call it. Do you have good telecommunications? Do you have roads? Electricity, power, clean water. All the basic infrastructures are really necessary for the development of the country; Education.
So if that was a hardware for infrastructure, the software is the people. And we need to focus on the people. This is the people who are going to create wealth, are going to run the businesses.
NARRATOR:
Entrepreneurship is self-help. And it’s probably the only way that leads out of the crisis.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Hernando De Soto, President, Institute for Liberty and Democracy, Peru.
HERNANDO DE SOTO:
There is never enough money to alleviate poverty. There’s just not enough in the world. People will end up creating their own wealth the same way Europeans created their own wealth. Nobody came and aided you, you had to create it yourself. That’s the only sure way to do it.
NARRATOR:
Many states are aware of the relevance of capital investment and building up their economy. But they also know that they have to create a climate conducive to investment and also fight corruption.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique.
JOAQUIM CHISSANO:
Actually, the private sector, foreign or national, is a very important tool for economic development because it’s a way of doing things which the state itself is not yet prepared to do. We have to work with the donors also in order to avoid corruption. And so we should decrease the probability of the corrupters to have a success.
NARRATOR
The fight against poverty is not just the task of the poor countries or just the wealthy ones, it needs both of them in partnership, with both parties openly and honestly sharing their needs and their capabilities. However, this also requires mutual trust. And above all, it needs the will of the developing countries to be in control of their own destiny.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre.
YASH TANDON
I think there’s a misconception in the developed part of the world that development is their responsibility. It’s not. Development is responsibility of the people in the developing countries. And the best thing that the developed countries can do is to allow the people in the developing countries to define for themselves what is development.
NARRATOR:
Entrepreneurs need money to finance their business ideas and most do so via loans. Usually, however, only someone who has collateral, such as capital or properties, gets loans from the bank. This is where microcredit comes in.
It’s based on the applicant’s reputation and not on their collateral. One institution which offers this type of loan is Pro Mujer in Peru.
WOMAN 1:
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
NARRATOR
Despite the trust factor, the loan has to be paid back in full with interest as any other commercial loan. Microcredit was developed in Bangladesh in the 1970s. The loans are very small, usually only $100. But this is often enough to help someone to become self-sustaining.
Pro Mujer not only offers money to various organisations, but also offers advice and experience on how to make the most out of small financial means.
WOMAN 1
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
NARRATOR:
These fisherwomen at Lake Titicaca have been able to invest in new fishing nets thanks to credit from Pro Mujer and are now earning their own money every day on the market as small business women.
WOMAN 2:
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
NARRATOR:
Pro Mujer’s microfinance system has a clear focus.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT:] Carmen Velasco, co-founder, Pro Mujer.
CARMEN VELASCO:
I think that one of the biggest differences between Pro Mujer and the rest of - some other institutions is that we are mainly, we’re focused on women because we see them as the engine to help their families and to bring their kids to a different level. We have been, from the very beginning, very active listeners; listening to what they need, and tailoring the answers to the needs they have. So every single programme that we have developed in Pro Mujer was as an answer to what they needed, to what they were asking. That’s why, at the beginning, we were only a training institution. And then, little by little, they began to ask more and more. We included health training and we included business training. And they asked us, now we need money to begin a business.