Financial Inclusion Experts Discuss Industry Trends During Citi’s "Financial Inclusion Week”

As part of its long-term strategy to foster financial inclusion and asset building, Citi Latin America announced today the Financial Inclusion Week. During this important week, Citi has partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and SEEP on events that will constitute a week rich in discussions around microfinance, entrepreneurship, institutional strengthening and financial capabilities. These activities are scheduled to take place from the 10^th to the 14^th of October, 2011, in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Mrs. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica with Bob Annibale, Global Director of Citi Microfinance and Community Development (left) and Gijs Veltman, Citi Costa Rica Country Officer (right). (Photo: Business Wire)

"As part of our efforts to promote economic empowerment, Citi is honored to sponsor and participate in events that come together to constitute what we have called Financial Inclusion Week,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director of Citi Microfinance and Community Development. "This year, we are not only recognizing microentrepreneurs that have made strong contributions to the economic and social development of their communities but we are also announcing Pro-Savings, a pioneering program that aims to create new business models for microentrepreneurs. Furthermore, we are facilitating the Regional Summit of Microfinance Networks in order to create a space where microfinance institutions can share best practices, learn from each other and build strategic alliances among themselves.”

Citi and the Citi Foundation are the main sponsors of the IDB’s XIV edition of the Interamerican Forum of Micro Businesses (FOROMIC), the region’s most important event on microfinance. A group of specialists on the subject, including top Citi executives, will gather to exchange ideas on how to create a space of dialogue among micro business institutions and relevant players in the public and private sector.

In addition, as the sole sponsor of the FOROMIC awards, Citi will recognize several microenterprises from the region in the categories of Best Microfinance Award, Best Rural Microfinance Award, Best Enterprise Development Services Award, and Best Local Microentrepreneurship Award. These awards will be delivered personally by Mrs. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica, and Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the IDB.

The Citi Foundation will also bestow in-kind awards on FOROMIC winners, including: leadership trainings for microfinance institution directors offered by the Wharton School of Business (in partnership with Women’s World Banking – WWB); a specialized management course for microfinance institution managers offered by INCAE (in partnership with Red Financiera Rural – RFR); and capacity building sessions at the SEEP Network conference in Washington, D.C. This will give this year’s winners access to world-class business training with the objective of helping them improve their operations and business results, while providing the microfinance and entrepreneurship sectors with incentives to enhance their performance and exceed expectations.

"Getting access to knowledge and sharing of best practices is essential to our development. Thanks to the Citi Foundation, we are able to learn from others, implement new processes and grow our business,” said Kevin Robles Carvajal, from Diprok Crafts, winner of the Best Local Microentrepreneurship Award.

In an effort to promote the development of networks and promote an overarching approach to financial inclusion, Citi has partnered with SEEP on network strengthening and is once again part of the Regional Microfinance Network Summit. Participants from 15 Latin-American countries will share experiences and best practices on governance, product innovation, risk management and social performance from the microfinance network perspective.

Media partners are cordially invited to attend and cover the event and may register at: http://registration.foromiccostarica2011.com/prensa/paso1.php.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About The Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work, so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation provides grant support for programs that are aligned with our priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Business, College and Careers, Financial Education and Asset Building. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise, and Small Businesses to support environmental programs and innovations. For more information, please visit: www.citifoundation.com.

About Citi Microfinance

Working across Citi’s businesses, product groups and geographies, Citi Microfinance serves more than 100 microfinance institutions (MFIs), networks and investors as clients and partners in over 40 countries with products and services spanning the financial spectrum – from financing, access to capital markets, transaction services and hedging foreign exchange risk, to credit, savings, remittances and insurance products - to expand access to financial services for the underserved. www.citi.com/citi/microfinance

Keywords: Citi, Citi Foundation, microfinance institutions, micro entrepreneur, FOROMIC, financial inclusion

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