BRUSSELS, 24 Nov. - (ANA) - West African rural microfinance provider Crédit Rural de Guinée (CRG) was awarded the 6th European Microfinance Award on Thursday by Her Royal Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, M. Romain Schneider at a ceremony held at the European Investment Bank Headquarters.

The theme of this year's competition was the provision of microfinance services in post-disaster, post-conflict areas, and in fragile states. Crédit Rural de Guinée won the award in recognition of their response to the Ebola crisis in 2014.

CRG was one of three finalists for the Award, alongside First Microfinance Institution (FMFI-S) from Syria, and Taytay Sa Kauswagan Inc. (TSKI) from the Philippines.

These three finalists were selected from an impressive list covering 47 candidates from 28 countries.

In his opening remarks, European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer emphasised that: “Microfinance is a powerful tool for helping local communities increase their resilience even under the most difficult circumstances. The European Investment Bank, as part of its mission as the EU bank, is proud to support the European Microfinance Award and actively promote stability and economic development also beyond European borders.”

The European Microfinance Award is jointly organized by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu), in cooperation with the European Investment Bank. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 24 November 2015 - - -