MADISON, Wis. – Addressing the 2005 MBA Class of the London Business School, World Council of Credit Unions President/CEO Arthur Arnold challenged the next generation of world leaders to address the disconnect between “Macro” policies and “Micro” needs and to focus on Micro approaches to development. “The only way to generate self-sustained growth is by focusing on the real needs of the `Have Less' people. That requires that we move away from a Macro, Top-Down approach to development and focus on a Micro, Bottom-Up approach,” Arnold told the audience. “Micro-Finance.produces the highest returns in terms of self-sustained growth. And that's what the more than 5 billion Have Less people really need, not more dependence on outside money and aid, but self-sustained growth, to develop themselves, i.e. becoming independent. And that's what credit unions and WOCCU's approach to development are all about,” he continued. Of all the development dollars spent in the world, said Arnold, only about 50% reach the people the money is intended for. “It's about time we realize we are doing something wrong in development,” he said. Arnold challenged the audience to “analyze where small enterprise, the engine and backbone of economic growth in the Have More world” would be if it lacked access to these services. He also drew attention to the impact of Micro-Payments on development. It is estimated, he said, that Micro-Payments, or remittances of $200 to $500 per month, are being sent by millions of immigrants worldwide to their families back in their native country. The total value of worldwide remittances is estimated at $100 billion a year, he said. “That's two times what governments are spending on Foreign Aid in the world,” Arnold pointed out. “The world needs more Micro and less Macro,” Arnold stated.
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