Events & Presentations

April 21-26, 2014, Boston, USA

Now in its ninth year, the HBS-Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance is the first executive education program to provide high-level management and leadership training to those shaping the microfinance industry, including CEOs of leading microfinance institutions and executives of mainstream banks entering the microfinance market. The HBS-Accion Program is part of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. Leading the program are HBS faculty members V. Kasturi Rangan and Michael Chu. The course will begin with an intensive immersion into financial inclusion and the operations of leading microfinance institutions, provided by HBS Faculty and experienced Accion practitioners. The program will then address fundamental challenges of doing business at the low-income segment of the financial sector. These topics will be explored in ways that are relevant not only for financial services providers, but also investors and regulators who are interested in helping to expand financial inclusion.

March 29, 2014, Philadelphia, USA

The conference will cover how the model of microfinance has adapted to changing economic, social and cultural, and business landscapes. It will include lectures on microfinance in high-income countries, gender in microfinance, for-profit microfinance and ethics, and the interaction of microfinance with technology. The conference’s keynote address will be delivered by CFI Managing Director Elisabeth Rhyne. The inaugural Penn Microfinance Case Competition will convene, which engages teams in exercising their analytical skills and business knowledge to compete for the best solution to a social impact-related case study. The conference is organized by Penn Microfinance, an undergraduate microfinance organization based at the University of Pennsylvania.

March 20-22, 2014, Arequipa

Realidades que Generan Oportunidades y Desarrollo Sostenible, convening roughly 1,000 individuals across sectors, will explore a range of pertinent microfinance issues. Discussion topics include the economic benefits of inclusion, opportunities and challenges for inclusion in Latin America, and the unique needs of vulnerable client segments like youth and women. CFI's Deborah Drake, along with international consultant David Alvarez, is moderating the session “Pillars for Inclusion: Strengthening Models in the Industry Microfinance”. Objectives of the event are to identify new and emerging markets, examine how to appropriately address these opportunities, and discuss the tools and ways in which microfinance can strengthen competitiveness and sustainability.

March 10, 2014, Quito, Ecuador

At the daylong meeting, “International Meeting of Microfinance for All: The Way Towards Productive Inclusion,” Josh Goldstein and Sergio Guzmán will convene with local regulators, providers and support organizations in Ecuador to develop steps for developing a policy environment conducive to the financial inclusion of persons with disabilities. The meeting is organized in conjunction with the Office of the Vice President of Ecuador and will include a keynote address by Josh, in addition to a series of financial inclusion-focused panels with speakers from the public and private sectors. To learn more about CFI’s work on disability inclusion, click here.

February 12-13, 2014, London

The CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) is hosting a two-day meeting February 12 and 13 in London on responsible finance among investors and DFIs. With session types including presentations, discussions, and roundtable workshops, the meeting will cover the topics of impact investing and financial inclusion, the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management, balanced returns, and more. CFI and CGAP are hosting a breakfast session on responsible exits. Moderated by Deborah Drake, the session will discuss findings from a forthcoming joint publication by CFI and CGAP, The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales.