Two Audiences:
China focused: China urban rural divde and poverty level huge. Microfinance is a tool for addressing those issues. Don’t get too technical.
Microfinance focused: use microfinance language. Talk about China as having second largest potential microcredit demand worldwide, compare China market with india/bangladesh,talk about growth potential of Wokai, potential for Wokai to become loan based, potentenatilly give lenders interest, investment committee etc.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/22/content_6925292.htm (first stat) - urban increasing at 9.6%/year rural increasing at 6.2%/year
Change current stats to reuters stats: http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINPEK1715020080124
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4469 (other stats)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/22/content_6925292.htm (first stat) - urban increasing at 9.6%/year rural increasing at 6.2%/year
Change current stats to reuters stats: http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINPEK1715020080124
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4469 (other stats)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/22/content_6925292.htm (first stat) - urban increasing at 9.6%/year rural increasing at 6.2%/year
Change current stats to reuters stats: http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINPEK1715020080124
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4469 (other stats)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/22/content_6925292.htm (first stat) - urban increasing at 9.6%/year rural increasing at 6.2%/year
Change current stats to reuters stats: http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINPEK1715020080124
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4469 (other stats)
Two different audiences here: 1. China focused. 2. Microfinance Focused. Key to in the perliminary fact finding discussion get a sense of which category audience falls into. The microfinance group is going to want to hear about empowerment, vast underdevelopment microfinance sector, opportunity to introduce a new solution to this issue. The China focused audience is interested in microfinance as a tool for addressing the rural urban divid and the huge rural population that is being left out in wake of economic development. Less microfinance talk, more discussion of the social change and empowerment that this model creates. Emphasize growth potential, potential to eventually expand to lending and maybe even provide interest to lenders.
“As you know, there are basically two Chinas. The Urban China, the Beijing and Shanghai’s that have a growing middle class and upper-middle class, and the rural China where over 700 thousand people live on an average of $1.50/day, just 25 cents above the international poverty line. The gap between urban and rural areas is expanding and the only way to bridge that gap is by developing rural areas. Microfinance offers one of the most powerful solution to addressing these issues by giving people in rural areas the opportunity to start small business and lift themselves from poverty. Not only do they increase their own income, but they are able to create a cycle of change as they now have the means to send their children to school and support their families. The problem is that microfinance is virtually nonexistant in China, that’s where Wokai fits in, we create a new source of microfinance opportunities for people in rural area. To get a sense of life on the ground in China and the opportunities that microfinance and Wokai create, let’s take a look at Wu Hailing….: (for microfinance audience make this more microfinance-y and less about China rural-urban divide, just say China has second largest microcredit demand…)
24 years old
Married at 18 and put into debt by family, had to go to city as migrant worker to pay off debt
Paid off debt and returned home. Didn’t have job opportunities so used savings to buy ducks and start business. Ducks died, but at same time heard about ARDY (Wokai’s Sichuan Field Partner), fact that ARDY provided loans to start small businesses as well as technical assistance enabling clients to succeed. Went to ARDY, took out loan to re-start duck business, received support, was successful, now taking out a second loan. That’s where Wokai comes in….
