MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women’s World Banking Hosts Global Meeting, Investor Forum, Dinner Celebration of Visionary Women, and Capital Markets Conference

Women’s World Banking Global Meeting, Investor Forum, Global Meeting Dinner, and Capital Markets Conference

April 27-May 1,2009, New York City, New York

Women’s World Banking (WWB) will host a series of events during the week of April 27 to May 1 in New York City. First, on April 27and 28 it will hold its fourteenth annual Global Meeting. The first day is open to all WWB network members, board members, donors, and selected guests by invitation only. It will begin with discussions on the current state of the microfinance industry, followed by panels on risk management strategies through product diversification and management of operational risk. The second day, a Network Member Day, will be open exclusively to WWB network members, board members, and selected guests. The day will be dedicated to celebrating the successes of WWB, welcoming new members, and looking into the future of the network.

On April 29, WWB will host an Investor Forum. The invitation only will include a networking lunch and one-on-one meetings between investors and network members.

Also on April 29, WWB will host its Global Meeting Dinner. The event, titled “Celebrating 30 Years of Visionary Women”, will honor Cherie Blair, a global advocate for women’s rights. The dinner is open to the public. It will be hosted at Tavern on the Green between 6:30 and 10:00pm. Tickets can be purchased for a donation of USD 300. For a donation of USD 500, one can sponsor a WWB network member to attend the event. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Stephanie Waxman by phone at (212) 556-3161 or by email at swaxman@swwb.org; or visit the dinner sponsorship areas for Investing in Women, Transforming Lives.

Finally, on April 30 and May 1, WWB will host its seventh annual Capital Markets Conference. Investment bank J.P. Morgan will sponsor the event. In attendance will be senior managers of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and leading professionals from the mainstream financial sector. The two-day event will consist of panel discussions on key capital market issues: the volatility of the current capital markets global, regional overviews, industry consolidation, the state of debt and equity markets, capital structure optimization, risk management and future outlooks. The second day will also feature a competition in which select MFIs will collaborate with J.P. Morgan professionals to develop solutions to current challenges in the microfinance industry, and present their solutions to the audience. For additional information on the event, please refer to the Capital Markets Conference website and agenda.

The invitation-only event is open to WWB network members, as well as select non-network member MFIs, investors, donors, raters and other industry service providers. Information is not publicly available on venue or registration fee. For more information, please contact Event Coordinator Magaly Arboleda by email at marboleda@swwb.org, or phone Women’s World Banking at 1-212-768-8513.

Women’s World Banking is a global network of 54 microfinance institutions and banks that as a whole serve 21 million low-income individuals, primarily women, with microcredit and other financial services. The network operates in 30 countries, and has a gross outstanding loan portfolio of over USD 1.4 billion. WWB has been hosting annual Capital Markets Conferences since 2001. The 2008 conference brought together 250 participants, including senior managers from over 40 MFIs and 25 microfinance investors.

By Ryan Hogarth, Research Assistant

Additional Resources:

Women’s World Banking (WWB): Home

WWB: “Capital Markets Conference Agenda”

WWB: “7th Annual WWB Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference, Sponsored by J.P. Morgan”

WWB: “Women’s World Banking 2009 Global Meeting Dinner”

WWB: “WWB Global Meeting and Capital Markets Conference”