In May, Red Accion members convened in Antigua, Guatemala for our annual meeting and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our host, Génesis Empresarial. From the very moment we arrived, we felt welcome. Beautiful gifts from our host awaited us in our hotel, and our stay was kicked-off with a wonderful opening cocktail in Juan Niemann’s home, complete with a surprise fireworks display in Antigua´s central square, the release of wish-carrying balloons into the sky and a joyous soundtrack of traditional marimba music. At the close of the meeting, we were invited to join Génesis and some of their friends and collaborators to celebrate their 25th anniversary at a gala dinner in the stunning, antique Capuchins Church where each institution gave commemorative gifts to our host. Many thanks to Genesis for being such gracious hosts and making our time in Guatemala enjoyable and festive!
This year’s agenda included healthy discussions on 2012 lessons and achievements, over-indebtedness, the impact of political issues on operations, mobile banking, poverty index and SMEs. To continue with the Red priorities we also had presentations on client protection (certification process), social performance (universal standards) and governance (managing up). On the organizational side, we thanked Gregorio Mejía and Juan Uslar, who completed their period as members of the Board, for their efforts and contributions as great representatives, and welcomed Victor Tellería and Carlos Morante as new members of the board. This new team will undoubtedly lead us to great accomplishments.
Our next meeting will take place on September 30 prior to the FOROMIC in Guadalajara, Mexico, followed by our 2014 annual meeting in New York, which will be hosted by Accion.