MICROFINANCE EVENT: Savings Group Conference 2013: Expanding Financial Inclusion and Development, March 4 – March 5, 2013, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Event Name: Savings Group Conference 2013

Event Date: March 4 – March 5, 2013

Event Location: Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Cost: The registration fee for delegates registering by January 18, 2013, is USD 550. The fee for delegates who register from January 19, 2013, to February 18, 2013, is USD 625.

Event Summary: This conference is sponsored by US-based nonprofit Oxfam America and the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is supported by the US-based nonprofit Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network (SEEP Network) and an advisory committee including representatives of the Switzerland-based Aga Khan Foundation, UK-based PLAN International, Canada’s MasterCard Foundation, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as US-based nonprofits CARE, Catholic Relief Services and Freedom from Hunger.

The conference aims to bring together people interested in learning more about savings groups. Participants will network and discuss the role of savings groups, linking savings groups to the formal financial sector, reaching remote areas, scaling up, mobile technology and the future of savings groups.

Oxfam America is seeking proposals for presentations to be made at the event on themes such as sustainability, empowerment, resilience, and using savings groups as platforms for education and other services. Proposals on mobile technology, regulation, gender and financial capability are also welcome. The deadline for receipt of research proposals is Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

Background on Organizers: Oxfam America is a member of Oxfam International, a confederation of 17 organisations working in 94 countries to reduce poverty by addressing issues such as community finance, private sector engagement, food security and rural resilience. As of 2011, Oxfam America reported total revenue of USD 116 million.

Launched in 1994, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a US-based organization that provides grants to organizations in approximately 100 countries with the aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding access to education and information technology. The foundation’s “Financial Services for the Poor” initiative focuses on providing people with secure places to save money. As of 2011, the foundation reported an endowment of USD 36.2 billion.

Event Website: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/issues/community-finance/savings-conference-2013

For additional information, you may contact Belicca Ferrer by email at savingsconference[at]oxfamamerica.org or call +1 617 517 9477

By Chioma Okwudiafor, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources:

Oxfam Website: Savings Groups 2013 Conference
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/issues/community-finance/savings-conference-2013

MicroCapital Story: January 30, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxfam International, Symbiotics Launch Small Enterprise Impact Investment Fund for Asia, Africa”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-oxfam-international-symbiotics-launch-small-enterprise-impact-investment-fund-for-asia-africa/

MicroCapital Story: June 1, 2011, MICROFINANCE EVENT: Arusha Savings Groups Summit (ASGS), Arusha, Tanzania, October 4 – October 6, 2011
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-event-arusha-savings-groups-summit-asgs-arusha-tanzania-october-4-october-6-2011/

MicroCapital Story: Monday, October 17, 2011, FROM NEXT BILLION: David Satterthwaite on “This World Food Day, Making it Africa’s Last Famine”
https://www.microcapital.org/from-next-billion-david-satterthwaite-on-this-world-food-day-making-it-africas-last-famine/

MicroCapital Story: January 23, 2009, MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance from Below: The Power of Savings and Savings Groups in Frontier Economies, March 26-28, 2009, in Medford, Massachusetts
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-event-microfinance-from-below-the-power-of-savings-and-savings-groups-in-frontier-economies-march-26-28-2009-in-medford-massachusetts/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tikiindex.php?page=Bill+and+Melinda+Gates+Foundation

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Oxfam America
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Oxfam+America

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/

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