This conference on financial services innovation will cover topics such as the digitization of credit unions and community banks, payments innovation for small businesses, small business lending innovation, blockchain in financial services, financial health and inclusion, and policy and regulation.
Category: Events
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MWC (Mobile World Congress) Barcelona; February 25-28, 2019; Barcelona, Spain
MWC Barcelona, formerly known as Mobile World Congress, is themed “Intelligent Connectivity” this year, showcasing innovations in mobile technology, such as 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), digital commerce and big data. Blockchain, on-the-go payment systems, and
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investing for Impact; February 12, 2019; New York, USA
The third annual Investing for Impact summit, which is organized by The Economist, a UK-based research and publishing firm, will cover the rise of impact investing. The US-based Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), whose representatives were featured at the 2018 iteration of Investing for Impact, defines impact investments as those “made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” This year’s event will cover topics such as (1) Holistic Impact: Doing Well by Doing Good;
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Livelihoods India Summit; January 28-29, 2019; New Delhi, India
The Livelihoods India Summit is organized by Access Development Services to facilitate dialogue on improving the livelihoods of poor people and building consensus on sustainable solutions. This ninth iteration of the event is co-hosted by the Indian government’s National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. The summit themes include: (1) Capacitating Women: Enabling them for Entrepreneurship; (2) A Dialogue on Value Addition in Agri-Value Chains between the Private and Public Sectors; (3) Infusion of Technologies in Agriculture
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Inclusion Summit; February 16, 2019; Dhaka, Bangladesh
The summit will focus on how to ensure that individuals of lower economic strata have access to adequate financial services. The listed presentation topics are (1) Innovation & Product Development for
MICROFINANCE EVENT: ICT4D (Information and Communications Technology for Development); April 30 – May 3, 2019; Kampala, Uganda
This event will focus on how technology can help meet the UN’s sustainable development goals. Although this year’s session titles have not yet been released, they will address topic areas such as Digital Financial Inclusion, Agriculture & Environment,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Harvard Business School-Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance; March 31 – April 5, 2019; Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Event Name: Harvard Business School-Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance
Event Date: March 31 – April 5, 2019
Event Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Summary of Event: This program is designed to help new and seasoned executives in the microfinance sector to enhance their business strategies. Topics include the pros and cons of technology-driven business models,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 15th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; March 14-15, 2019; Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Event Name: 15th Annual Global Microfinance Forum
Event Date: March 14 – 15, 2019
Event Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Summary of Event: Participants at this event will discuss recent changes in the microfinance industry and predictions for its future. Topics include
MICROFINANCE EVENT: L’Afrique Numérique: Secure Digital Innovations for Mobility, Identification and Payment; March 12-14, 2019; Abidjan, Ivory Coast
This first conference by l’Afrique Numérique Limited is intended to address telecommunications, payments, e-government and other digital solutions in French-speaking Africa as well as to encourage integration between English-speaking and French-speaking African countries by bringing together public and private entities from across Africa and other parts of the world.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Foro Latinoamericano de Inversión de Impacto (Latin American Impact Investing Forum); February 19-21, 2019; Merida, Mexico
This forum will host conversations among representatives of organizations that partake in and advocate for entrepreneurship in Latin America in general, and especially those focused on impact investing, a term that refers to investing with the dual aims of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Market Systems Symposium; April 8 – 11, 2019; Cape Town, South Africa
The annual Market Systems Symposium will focus on “inspiration, capacity building, and connections you need to strengthen and transform your market systems development practice.” The mission of the organizer, EcoVentures International, is to support “micro and small enterprises
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Presents “Metrics from the Ground Up;” February 18 – 19, 2019; Merida, Mexico
Metrics from the Ground Up focuses on measuring the impact of small and growing businesses (SGBs) and developing strategies to increase that impact. Its organizer, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), is an adoption partner of the
SPECIAL REPORT: Using SAM to Align Financing Needs, Social Impact in Mozambique
When 
Francisco Cuamba, the Finance Director of Mozambique’s Microbanco Confianca (pictured at left), came to Luxembourg for European Microfinance Week in November, he was very pleased to win a free registration to the 2019 SAM, which will be held in late October in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Reflecting on the 2017 SAM in Ethiopia, he said, “My participation in SAM was an extremely important opportunity to meet different organizations from all over the world to share different experiences and meet some investors to which to present my organization…. The type of investors we sign should be social investors that are not only concerned with the profitability of the investment, but also our extensive involvement in the development of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Arab #FinTex Symposium; December 12-13, 2018; Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Arab #FinTex Symposium 2018 will address how financial technology (fintech) solutions such as blockchain mechanisms can increase financial inclusion and economic development in the Arab region. This event, presented by the Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative (FIARI), is co-hosted by the Central Bank of the UAE, the UAE-based Arab Monetary Fund, Germany’s Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Malaysia-based Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and the World Bank. The plenary topics include (1) Blockchain & Crypto-assets Benchmarking – Opportunities & Challenges for Financial Inclusion; (2) Digital Identity; (3) The Blockchain – Hype vs. Reality for Digital Financial Transformation?; and (4) RegTech & SupTech Opportunities to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium; January 22 – 24, 2019; Cairo, Egypt
Session titles at the 2019 Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium include: Data Privacy in Digital Finance, Policy Considerations Relevant to Digital ID in Finance, and Data Analysis to Understand the Reach of Digital Financial Services. Speakers will also address
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Inclusive Finance India; December 11 – 12, 2018; New Delhi, India
The goal of Inclusive Finance India 2018 is to present a global perspective on topics such as “financial inclusion policy, regulation, supervision, technology advancements, client protection and institutional framework.” Although this year’s agenda is not yet available, last year’s event included sessions titled “Digital
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investing Summit; December 6 – 7, 2018; London, United Kingdom
This Impact Investing Summit aims to create dialogue among current and potential impact investors regarding the future of international impact investing. The term refers to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Villgro Unconvention 2018; December 7 – 8, 2018; Bengaluru, India
Event Summary: Villgro Unconvention is an event for social entrepreneurs and associated stakeholders active in India within the following sectors: agribusiness, health, education & employability, and energy. Session titles