MICROFINANCE EVENT: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) Hosting “Getting Inclusion Right;” November 1, 2018; Washington, DC, USA

In recognition of its tenth anniversary, the US-based Center for Financial Inclusion will hold this event to consider how it and its partners will move forward in their work to promote the availability and usage of appropriate financial services. The agenda will include discussion of how increased access to financial services can lead to improved quality of life for customers and what sorts of risks customers need protection against The proceedings are part of Financial Inclusion Week 2018, an annual set of events that convenes industry stakeholders in various locations around the world. The name of the one-day event, Getting Inclusion Right, is also the theme of Financial Inclusion Week.

Background on Organizer: CFI is an initiative of US-based nonprofit Accion. The center works with microfinance practitioners, regulators, banks, investors and academics in an effort to increase financial inclusion and promote client protection by connecting the microfinance community to capital markets, technology and advisory services. During 2017, Accion expended USD 6.2 million to support CFI.

The mission of Accion is to alleviate poverty through services such as microenterprise loans and business training. The NGO was founded in 1961 and issued its first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. Accion’s partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide loans entrepreneurs through 64 MFIs in 32 countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia. During 2016, the network disbursed USD 10.9 billion in loans, and it held USD 4.2 billion in savings deposits as of December of that year.

Cost: The cost of attendance is USD 900 for participants representing for-profit companies and USD 700 for those representing NGOs.

Event website: http://financialinclusionweek.org/cfi10/

For additional information, you may contact Hashim Wahdatyar at HWahdatyar[at]accion.org or +1 202 393 5113.

By Nicholas Galimberti, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

CFI 10th Anniversary
http://financialinclusionweek.org/cfi10/

Financial Inclusion Week
http://financialinclusionweek.org/

CFI background
http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/about/who-we-are

Accion financials
https://www.accion.org/sites/default/files/2017%20Audited%20Financial%20Statements.pdf

MicroCapital Brief; October 9, 2014; Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), HelpAge USA Launch Research Initiative on Financial Inclusion of Older Adults in Colombia
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-center-for-financial-inclusion-cfi-helpage-usa-launch-research-initiative-on-financial-inclusion-of-older-adults-in-colombia/

MicroCapital Brief; July 3, 2018; India’s RBL Bank Completes Ownership of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Swadhaar Finserve with Equity Purchases from Accion, Individual Investors
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-indias-rbl-bank-completes-ownership-of-microfinance-institution-mfi-swadhaar-finserve-with-equity-purchases-from-accion-individual-investors/

Find more events at https://www.microcapital.org/category/events/.