Maria Nowak

Maria Nowak is a graduate of the "Institut des Etudes Politiques", Paris (1956) and the London School of Economics (1959). She has pursued a career in the development field working for the "Agence Française de Développement" (AFD). As a delegate to the World Bank in Washington, in 1991, she participated in the development of microlending programmes in Central Europe, while also initiating a similar programme in France through the "Association pour le Droit à l'Initiative Economique" (ADIE) (Association for the Right to Economic Initiative), an association she founded in 1989 and of which she voluntarily serves as chairwoman.

Between 2000 and 2002, she was a Special Adviser to Laurent Fabius, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry.

She is author of "La Banquière de l'espoir" – The Banker of Hope (Albin Michel 1994). In 2005 she published "On ne prête (pas) qu'aux riches" - Lending (not only) to the rich (JC Lattès).She received the "Human Rights Award" from readers of the newspapers "La Croix" and "Liberté de Fribourg" for her work in favour of "solidarity lending" in France. She is also Chevalier of the Order of Merit (1994) and Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (1998). In September 2005 she was awarded the "CajaGranada International Cooperation Prize 2004", in recognition of her work as a defender and promoter of microcredit as a tool to fight poverty and to facilitate social inclusion in Europe.