Madison, WI—The deadline for Early Bird Registration for the 2007 World Credit Union Conference in Calgary, Canada is May 19, 2007. With engaging keynote speakers and exciting pre and post tours, the conference will provide attendees with an unforgettable credit union experience.The 2007 World Credit Union Conference will be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 29— August 1. Participants can register for the conference, sign up for tours and reserve accommodations at www.woccu.coop/ ca lgary07. Michael Treacy, author of Double-Digit Growth and The Discipline of Market Leaders, has joined the line up of distinguished keynote speakers. In his most recent work, Mr. Treacy has devised a common sense approach for achieving superior profitable growth. He has transformed businesses of all types around the world by aiding senior managers to tackle their greatest strategic challenges. Other keynote speakers include Stephen Lewis, former United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS; Grzegorz Bierecki, one of the ten most influential people in Poland and President of the National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit and Martin Eakes, CEO and co-founder of Self-Help Credit Union.Spaces are still available on the tours surrounding the conference. The pre-conference tour to Banff will enable participants to experience the spectacular natural beauty of the Canadian Rockies. The post-conference tour to Quebec City will provide the venue for participants to step back in time and taste the flavor of Canada’s most historic city. Tours in and around Calgary will offer companions opportunities to explore during the conference days. Visit www.woccu.coop/ca lgary07 for more information about the 2007 World Credit Union Conference. New hotels have been added to provide quality and convenient accommodations for all conference attendees. Hotel space and conference attendance are limited. Early registration is encouraged. Information provided by World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. World Council is the apex trade association and development organization of the international credit union system. It promotes the sustainable growth of credit unions and financial cooperatives across the globe. As instruments of economic and social development, World Council, its regional confederations, and national member organizations in 92 countries with 42,616 member credit unions serve more than 157 million people worldwide. Contact Person: Janette KlaehnOrganization: WOCCUPhone Number: (608) 231-8123E-mail: jklaehn@woccu.orgSource: World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU)http://www.woccu.org/press/press_rel/pressr.php?pressr_id=1352
Category: Events
Upcoming Events åö Inter-American Development Bank 2007 Business Seminar Series Looks at Capital Market Financing in Latin America and the Caribbean
Thursday June 7th 2007, Washington DC, USA The first in the upcoming seminar series held by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is entitled “Capital Markets and Financial Instruments for Development” and aims to “concentrate on innovative IDB financial instruments to help support access to local capital market financing in Latin America and the Caribbean.” The event will be held at the bank’s headquarters in Washington DC and the schedule will include a look at financial products offered by the Private Sector Department and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC). Staff will also present project finance case studies and discuss the new organisational structure of the IDB as well as business opportunities available through the bank. Continue reading “Upcoming Events åö Inter-American Development Bank 2007 Business Seminar Series Looks at Capital Market Financing in Latin America and the Caribbean”
CEO’s from Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and SKS Microfinance to be Keynote Speakers at Chicago Microfinance Conference, May 25th 2007
This year’s third annual Chicago Microfinance Conference (CMFC), ‘The Road Ahead, Innovation, Integration, Impact,’ will feature keynote addresses by Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a consortium of 33 public and private development agencies based in Washington DC, and Vikram Akula, CEO, SKS Microfinance, and Indian microfinance institution (MFI). Established by the University of Chicago, Kellogg School of Management, and Harris School of Public Policy Studies, the conference, to be held on May 25th 2007, aims to “advance strategic debate of the future of microfinance” and brings together practitioners, academics and industry leaders.
Grameen Bank and Kiva.org Subject of Event Focused on Capacity Building for Non-Profits
May 15th 2007 Seattle, WA, USA
“Creating High Impact Non-Profits: Capacity Building for Non-Profit Organisations”
The “session will look at case examples of high performing non-profits like Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Byrraju Foundation in India, Kiva out of San Francisco, Donors Choose from New York and a few others.” The day will be spent looking at the ‘fundamental rules’ of capacity building, comparing the organisations above to multinationals like Starbucks and General Electric (GE) to see the commonalities of capacity building between the for-profit and non-profit sector. The session will also take in market research, outsourcing, and guests will also be introduced to an overview of books, resources and reports to follow up on.
Upcoming Events åö Chicago Microfinance Conference (CMFC)
May 25th 2007, Chicago, USA
Established by the University of Chicago, Kellogg School of Management, and Harris School of Public Policy Studies, the conference aims to “advance strategic debate of the future of microfinance” and bring together practitioners, academics and industry leaders. Guests will include Lara Strom of Pro Mujer, and Paul Christensen who manages ShoreCap International Ltd, a private equity fund which invests in small businesses in developing economies. A keynote address will be given by Vikram Akula, founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution based in India.
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Upcoming Events åö Harvard Business School Microfinance Symposium
April 22nd 2007, Boston, USA
This is the inaugural HBS Microfinance Symposium, to which 21 ‘industry leaders’ have been invited to contribute, share their expertise, success stories, and “debate current issues about the industry structure, risks and growth.” The event is inspired by “the high financial return and rapid growth of successful microfinance institutions (MFI’s) in recent years.” Nancy Berry, former president of Women’s World Banking, will provide the keynote address with closing remarks from Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).
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Credit Suisse and Boston-Based ACCION International Sponsor Capital Markets Conference
ACCION International, a Boston-based microfinance network, will partner with Credit Suisse, a global financial services group, to sponsor its annual investor conference on microfinance, scheduled for March 19-20, 2007 in New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria. Scott Budde, managing director of social and community investing for TIAA-CREF, a huge pension fund, will deliver the keynote speech. According to the press release, other featured speakers and panelists will include senior executives from Citigroup, State Street Corporation, Standard & Poor’s, The World Bank, Blue Orchard Finance, ShoreCap Management, and FMO.
Cocktail in New York on February 20th Addresses "Scaling-up Microfinance"
Microfinance defined as providing access to credit for low income people, has made significant accomplishments in the last year. “Milestones include the Nobel Prize going to Mohammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and capital investment inflows from established Wall Street financial institutions”. In order to ensure that the poorest benefit from this growth, and also contribute to it, the expansion and improvement of the microfinance sector should be an international priority. As a result, on February 20 Anne Gaboury President of Desjardins International and Drew Tulchin Director of EDG will share their insights as to how the microfinance institutions, in both the U.S. and internationally, can embark upon the challenge of providing practical financial services to help more than one-half of the world’s people lift themselves from poverty. The event sponsored by Quebec Delegation, will occur at One Rockefeller Center 26th floor, NY from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. To RSVP or obtain more information about the event contact Katleen Felix by Telephone at 917-375-6902 or by email: katleen.felix@hec.ca.
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ALM’s Strategic Research Institute holds a Microfinance Forum: “Socially Responsible Investing,” for Institutional Investors and Asset Managers, March 29 & 30
ALM‘s Strategic Research Institute will have its 2nd Annual Socially Responsible Investing Forum for Institutional Investors and Asset Managers from March 29 & 30, 2007 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The Strategic Research Institute is part of ALM’s Conference and Trade Show Division, one of North America’s largest producers of educational and networking events for business leaders and the legal profession. Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and business communities. The forum will address the Future of Socially Responsible Investing, Community Investing, How Institutional Investors and Assets Managers are adapting, Fundamentals of Urban Investing, Investment Strategies for Clean Technology and Successfully Raising and Deploying Capital.
Microfinance Conference in Delhi, India on the 17th and 18th January
An association of Community Development Finance Institutions in India, Sa-Dhan, plans to hold the sixth annual microfinance policy conference “Greater Inclusion: Possibilities and Prospects” at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 17th and 18th January. Sa-Dhan, was founded in 1999 by SEWA Bank (Self Employed Women’s Association), BASIX (Building Sustainability Index), Dhan Foundation, FWWB (Friends of Women’s World Banking), MYRADA (Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency), RGVN (Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi), SHARE, and PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action). The conferences will focus on creating a point of interaction between traditional and occupational groups such as farmers, artisans, migrant and wage laborers and long term sustained financial services such as credit, savings, insurance, pension, and money transfer services. In addition, the conference will investigate strategies for a more inclusive, and coordinated effort between governmental bodies, formal banking system, corporate houses and the microfinance sector for greater financial inclusion in sharing the responsibility of development. The potential size of the number of people seeking microfinance services in India is estimated to be roughly 250 million people or approximately 75 million households.
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Some Interesting News Articles on the 2006 Global Microfinance Summit
Looking back on November, one of the main things that took place was the meeting of major players in the microfinance industry at the Global Microfinance Summit at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The newsflood in the wake of Prof Yunus’ Nobel win caused inadequate coverage of this event. Here are a few articles on the summit that have been written about.
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SEEP Network and Omidyar Network to host ‘Microfinance Investor Roundtable’ to discuss the potential of commercial microfinance.
The SEEP Network will host its annual conference this year October 23-27 in Washington D.C. This year’s conference, “Investing in the Majority”, will draw attention to innovative practices and current issues in microfinance. The event is an opportunity for microfinance and microenterprise development practitioners to exchange knowledge and experiences. According to the SEEP Network, last year’s conference drew over 1,100 participants from over 101 countries.