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All ILO Newsroom content

February 2022

  1. Article

    Digitally and financially empowered MSMEs in Uruguay – Lesson learnt from a successful collaboration with ANDE during the COVID-19 pandemic

    25 February 2022

    Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the main sources of employment worldwide. However, access to adequate financial services is a key challenge to their development. The ILO believes that financial education is one path to support MSMEs. Our collaboration with ANDE aims to strengthen the financial knowledge and capacities of entrepreneurs in Uruguay.

July 2021

  1. Article

    Convention 190 in action: preventing harassment of workers in Japanese banks

    29 July 2021

    Labour banks (“Rokin Banks”) in Japan have been promoting workers’ access to finance for many years. They have also been in the vanguard when it comes to adopting international standards around workplace violence and harassment. Rokin Banks modelled their recent harassment guidelines directly on the ILO’s Convention 190, serving as an example and inspiration for legislation elsewhere in Japan, and for financial institutions around the world.

January 2014

  1. © Farjanak K. Godhuly /AFP 2022

    Gender equality

    A quiet revolution: Women in Bangladesh

    29 January 2014

    Women in Bangladesh have made major strides over the past decades, putting the South Asian country at the forefront among the least-developed countries in addressing gender disparity.

November 2013

  1. Video interview

    ILO’s Craig Churchill on the status of microinsurance today

    12 November 2013

    ILO TV interviews Craig Churchill, head of the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility and chair of the Microinsurance Network, on the rapid growth of microinsurance worldwide and its impact on economic development and poverty reduction. Mr. Churchill describes how the ILO Facility will work over the coming years to stimulate market development and expand access to microinsurance. The interview took place as the 9th International Conference on Microinsurance met in Jakarta to examine the status of microinsurance and discuss critical issues such as distribution, business models and investments.

October 2012

  1. Microinsurance

    The win-win potential of microinsurance for migrants

    29 October 2012

    International migrants send home over US$ 400 billion a year, yet they and their families often lack basic social protection. That is where microinsurance can step in.

July 2012

  1. Video

    Migration and Microinsurance - Featuring Samia Kazi Aoul

    18 July 2012

    Migrant workers often face a gap in social protection. Samia Kazi Aoul speaks about how microinsurance may offer a means of providing this protection. She highlights some recent lessons learnt in the industry, including legal and regulatory constraints, marketing challenges and the importance of working with the right partners in order to gain migrants' trust.

April 2012

  1. News

    Microinsurance coverage expanding at breathtaking pace according to ILO and the Munich Re Foundation

    10 April 2012

    The number of people covered by microinsurance has increased by almost 6.5 times in five years, reaching nearly 500 million today according to the latest ILO/Munich Re Foundation survey.

  2. Video interview

    An interview with ILO's Craig Churchill on the expansion of Microinsurance coverage

    10 April 2012

    Access to microinsurance services has increased to the point where nearly 500 million low-income people have access today. ILO TV interviews Craig Churchill, Team Leader of the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility and Chair of the Microinsurance Network about the "Microinsurance Compendium, Protecting the Poor", co-published by the ILO and the Munich Re Foundation. Mr. Churchill describes why microinsurance plays a key role for low-income people to help them cope with risks and large losses. He also explains the reason for its success in Asia.

October 2008

  1. Microfinance press conference

    Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and ILO Director-General Juan Somavia address the press during Microfinance Forum

    02 October 2008

    The founder of Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Muhammad Yunus, joined Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office, Jean Zwahlen, Chairman of the World Microfinance Forum Geneva, and Ivan Pictet, Chairman of the Geneva Financial Centre, at a press conference at the first symposium of the World Microfinance Forum Geneva taking place this week.

  2. Video of speech

    ILO Director General Juan Somavia welcomes delegates to the World Microfinance Forum Geneva Symposium

    01 October 2008

    The first international symposium of the World Microfinance Forum Geneva opened here today. More than 300 world leaders in microfinance will discuss the fundamentals of microfinance and its contributions in reducing poverty and enabling sustainable economic growth. The symposium will also consider new products and technologies, emerging markets, and the role of investors in microfinance. (in English and French)