Incorporating Unserved Urban Microentrepreneurs into the China Microfinance Sector

This brief note assesses the status of microentrepreneurs in China and states that the Chinese microfinance industry (that includes Government, non-profit and private institutions) has:

• Helped in the provision of services to boost microenterprises;
• Provided loans, training, and support, to support microentrepreneurs in their transition out of poverty.

It further draws attention to the fact that:

• Only the microentrepreneurs assisted by microfinance institutions have been considered for the nominations of the Global Microentrepreneurship Award (GMA);
• Several of those microentrepreneurs, who are not aided by formal microfinance institutions (MFIs) and who have been successful in establishing, financing, and sustaining their business, should also be considered for the GMA.

The note further presents the summary of a project to be undertaken by PlaNet Finance in Beijing, China, to identify microentrepreneurs suitable for winning the nominations at the GMA. Through a market survey, this project shall:

• Identify microentrepreneurs who have achieved success without the aid of formal MFIs;
• Document their stories,
• Provide the information to the GMA's China Country Team for consideration in the GMA awards.