Government of Ecuador Announces a Campaign Commitment: Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities

The Microcredit Summit Campaign welcomes the Technical Secretariat for Disabilities of the Vice-presidency of the Republic of Ecuador as the first government to make a Campaign Commitment. Pledging to support 500 enterprises run by persons with disability under their "Productive & Financial Inclusion Model," Ecuador joins a global coalition to help 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) June 16, 2015

The Microcredit Summit Campaign welcomes the Government of Ecuador as the first government to make a Campaign Commitment. They join a global coalition of 54 partner organizations working to help 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

The Technical Secretariat for Disabilities (Secretaría Técnica de Discapacidades) of the Vice-presidency of the Republic of Ecuador is developing the "Productive & Financial Inclusion Model" through public-private partnerships. The model provides financial capacity building and training in support of enterprises run by persons with disabilities, and the Technical Secretariat has supported 257 enterprises to date. The Technical Secretariat commits to support 500 entrepreneurial projects led by persons with disabilities through the Productive & Financial Inclusion Network by December 31, 2015.

Furthermore, the Technical Secretariat understands the vital importance of measurement indicators to assess progress in meeting its objectives in serving persons with disabilities. It is currently working with partners to identify and assess the relative strengths of available poverty measurement and other indicators. The Technical Secretariat commits to implement a set of measurement indicators, including indicators to assess poverty levels, during the first half of 2015.

"Our commitment to advise more than 500 entrepreneurs with disabilities in 2015 and to implement tools for the assessment of poverty levels of the members of this priority group directly supports the objectives of the 100 Million Project," said Alex Camacho Vásconez, Technical Secretary. "The signature of this commitment will allow us to take part in an international movement that seeks to reduce extreme poverty all over the world. This strategic partnership with a global actor such as the Microcredit Summit Campaign is of great value as it constitutes a guarantee for the beneficiaries of the Productive Inclusion model and international recognition as a good practice for the global eradication of poverty."

The Microcredit Summit Campaign's 100 Million Project is building a movement among financial service stakeholders committed to helping to end extreme poverty through public statements of commitment to action, expanding practices to reliably measure movement out of extreme poverty, and promoting innovations and best practices to accelerate movement out of poverty.

###

About the Microcredit Summit Campaign

The Microcredit Summit Campaign (the "Campaign"), a project of RESULTS Educational Fund, is the largest global network of institutions and individuals involved in microfinance and is committed to two important goals: 1) reaching 175 million of the world's poorest families with microfinance and 2) helping 100 million families lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The 100 Million Project (focused on Goal 2) was launched in response to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim's call to end extreme poverty by 2030 and in recognition that full financial inclusion can only be achieved by targeting the extreme poor. For more information on Commitments and the 100 Million Project, visit our website or write to mycommitment[at]microcreditsummit[dot]org.

About the Technical Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities of the Vice-presidency of the Republic of Ecuador

The Technical Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, created in 2013 to coordinate the transfer of programs and projects from the Misión Solidaria Manuela Espejo to the guiding ministries; and following Executive Directive No. 547, enacted January 14, 2015 this was transformed into the Technical Secretariat for Disabilities Inclusion Management.

Among its roles are the coordination of cross-sector implementation of public policy in matters concerning disabilities such as development and enactment of policy, plans, and programs to raise awareness about persons with disabilities within the initiative of Participatory and Productive Inclusion and Universal Access under the national program Ecuador Lives Inclusion (Programa Ecuador Vive la Inclusion).

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/06/prweb12790555.htm