According to its authors, the OSI policy brief "discusses the importance of creating ’good jobs’ to move Roma social inclusion toward economic empowerment, and proposes a potential approach to job creation through a combination of socially sensitive investment facilitation policies and enhancing small entrepreneurial activity through microcredit."

Read more information about the policy brief and download it by accessing this page.

The World Bank report was launched in early September at a conference entitled "A Way Out and a Possible Way Forward: Social Microcredit, Financial Inclusion, and Self-Employment for Roma" hosted in Brussels by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional Policy, the Kiútprogram Non-profit Co, the World Bank, and the Polgár Foundation for Opportunities.

One of the findings is that Roma in the Eastern European region are generally excluded from regular financial services including basic bank accounts and the more advanced microcredit.

One of the main conclusions of the report is that "efforts promoting financial inclusion can not only contribute directly to the welfare of Roma in Eastern Europe, but can also complement efforts to close the gaps in the education, employment, housing, and health sectors - areas which have traditionally been the focus of Roma integration policies".

You can read more about and download the report here.