January 27th 2010 - Talk by Colin Timms
1700-1800, Committee Room 4
Chair: Baroness Cox
Colin Timms spoke about financial services in collaboration with the Church and business partnerships as a contribution to the reconstruction of post-war Sudan, followed by a fascinating discussion. The event was well attended by a range of guests, including those already involved in microfinance and those interested in investing in Southern Sudan.
More than 95% of the 17 million Southern Sudanese remain unbanked until today. The hardship that this causes to ordinary people especially the poor is further compounded by exploitive costs of the informal sector. The situation is causing a severe impediment to development and rehabilitation as the country limps back to the normalcy after almost half a century of conflict.
Mr Timms from India is the founder and CEO of the Guardian Bank in India, a bank specifically set up to include the poor in the banking sector. He is an international consultant on financial services, banking and business development in less developed countries and has led projects on establishing banks in Uganda and Kenya. He is coming from Davos where he will have been lecturing on globalisation as an opportunity for social enterprise. He is en route with Sir Donald Harvey to the Sudan on 28th January in the evening to take the establishment of the new bank further, and to work with Sir Donald, a senior adviser in DEFRA, on developing micro-enterprise business in the agricultural sector in Sudan in partnership with the Episcopal and Catholic Churches. He is working at the moment with a group of Indian investors to invest in the education and health sectors in Sudan as well as micro-finance and banking.
