Team Delta Lloyd flies the Village Banking Campaign logo in Worldwide Sailing Competition.

Media Contact: Diane Jones       FINCA International        (949) 215-6130        djones@villagebanking.org

Team Delta Lloyd flies the Village Banking Campaign logo in Worldwide Sailing Competition

Washington DC - October 4, 2008 - The Village Banking Campaign logo will fly in 11 ports around the world during the Volvo Ocean Race’s nine-month worldwide sailing competition, thanks to Team Delta Lloyd skipper Ger O’Rourke. The race launched in Alicante, Spain in October 2008 and concludes in St Petersburg, Russia, during late June 2009. FINCA was approached by Team Delta Lloyd skipper Ger O’Rourke, President and CEO of Irish-based Chieftain Enterprises, who wants to spread the word about our work as the team traverses more than 37,000 nautical miles around the globe.

As is tradition, when the sailing ships are in port, they fly their forstay flags, which advertise their team's sponsors. This year, the Village Banking Campaign will be seen by hundreds of thousand of sailing enthusiasts and dignitaries who welcome the ships into the ports of Alicante, Spain; Cape Town, South Africa; Cochin, India; Sentosa Island, Singapore; Qingdao, China; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Boston, Massachusetts; Galway, Ireland; Marstrand and Stockholm, Sweden; and finally St. Petersburg Russia.

Rupert Scofield issued a statement that was read during the Volvo Ocean Race's launch press conference which, in part, stated:

"Speaking on behalf of my colleagues around the world, I am honored that FINCA International could be involved with such a prestigious group of competitors and companies in the world-renowned Volvo Ocean Race. We would especially like to thank skipper Ger O’Rourke, Chieftan team members, and the hard-working crew of the Delta Lloyd.  The Volvo Ocean Race is a grueling and noble competition on its own, but this year, Team Delta Lloyd has added a new challenge to the race: raising awareness about global poverty and the amazing progress that can be made against it if we use simple tools to empower people to lift themselves out of poverty.  This is FINCA’s approach and FINCA’s challenge as well.  We are thrilled to have Delta Lloyd’s support for our global efforts."