This year’s summit of the US-based NGO Concordia is intended to further the organization’s mission of confronting “the world’s most pressing challenges through
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SPECIAL REPORT: An Interview with Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week, Luxembourg & Online, November 2023
MicroCapital: What can we expect from EMW2023, happening in-person November 15-17 in Luxembourg and online?
Christoph Pausch: EMW2022, back in-person after two years, showed us that there is no substitute for getting the opinion leaders and decision-makers in the inclusive finance sector together in-person, ensuring they have the time and space to debate, make new connections, and of course give presentations and discuss the various challenges and innovations underway around the world.
After the success of the hybrid EMW2022, which gathered 570 attendees (including over 200 who joined us online) from 48 countries, we are delighted to return to the beautiful Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg for another hybrid event, which will once again offer an exceptional networking and knowledge-sharing experience with the top experts in the financial inclusion sector. And the programme is designed to be as conducive as possible to those joining us online from different time zones. Plus, sessions will be recorded for “catch-up” after.
MC: What choices of sessions can attendees expect?
CP: As always, EMW sessions have been put forward largely by our members – so they address the sector’s current “hot topics” – and we organise them across several thematic streams. We received an enormous response to our call for proposals that went out early in the summer, giving us great scope for a fascinating, diverse program across different streams. In addition to our usual annual topic areas – digitisation, social performance, funding/investment – this year there also will be streams on refugee finance, agri-finance, a particular emphasis on
MICROFINANCE EVENT: GSG Global Impact Summit 2023; October 2-3; Malaga, Spain
Organised by the UK-based NGO Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) and its Spanish National Advisory Board (SpainNAB), this year’s Global Impact Summit will focus on three topic areas: (1) Mobilising Capital for People and Planet Where It Is Most Needed; (2) Achieving Full Transparency in Measuring Impacts – Impact Transparency 2025; and (3) Building Impact Economies. The speakers are to include
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance); October 16-20, 2023; Lomé, Togo
Themed “Inclusive and Sustainable Finance: How to Reconcile the Challenges of Socio-economic Inclusion and the Transition to a Resilient and Ecological Economy,” this sixth edition of SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance, French for African Microfinance Week) includes two days each of conference sessions, an Investor Fair and an “Innovator’s Village,” along with a gala dinner and about 20 associated events on topics such as “agricultural finance, digital finance, microinsurance and social performance.”
The conference portion of the week includes sessions titled: (1) Carbon Markets and Environmental Service Payments: New Opportunities for Local Communities; (2) Beyond Taxonomies: the Role of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fintech Festival Thailand; September 26-28, 2023; Bangkok, Thailand
This conference will cover topics such as artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, cybersecurity, digital assets, insurance technology (insurtech), investing, payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) services and personal finance. The slate of speakers includes Chonladet Khemarattana, President of the Thai Fintech Association and CEO of investment advising firm Webull Thailand; Myrtle Anne Ramos, CEO of UAE-based blockchain
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Minds: Standing Together; August 28-30, 2023; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This event will promote networking among impact ecosystem actors to facilitate the deployment of capital in Latin America and the Caribbean. On August 27, members of the Colombia-based network Latimpacto will meet for a pre-event dinner. The main event offers sessions titled: (1) The Role of the Multilaterals Acting as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ILO, UNCDF to Expand PICAP Climate Microinsurance Program to 8 Pacific Countries
The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently joined the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in its efforts to expand climate risk insurance in the Pacific region. The Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP), which was launched in 2020 by UNCDF and two other UN agencies, has supported insurers in deploying parametric coverage in Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. Parametric insurance pays
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global SME Finance Forum; September 12-14, 2023; Mumbai, India
The ninth iteration of this event will explore financial services providers’ delivery of digital services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leveraging samples from India and abroad. The forum will cover topics – particularly “ecosystems” – relating to digital finance, international
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Futu Expanding Digital Investment, Financial Education Platform to Malaysia
The Hong Kong-based wealth management company Futu Holdings is adding Malaysia to the list of countries whose residents can access its investment platform Moomoo, following the firm’s local subsidiary receiving preliminary regulatory approval for the service. Moomoo allows
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp West Africa Summit; June 12-13, 2023; Accra, Ghana
This event will focus on mechanisms through which entrepreneurial partnerships in regions such as South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, can solve global issues. The organizers expect approximately 80 speakers and 300 delegates discussing topics such as: (1) Agriculture; (2) Climate Change and Clean Energy;
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Enlit Africa Forum on Energy, Power and Water; May 16-18, 2023; Cape Town, South Africa
The 2023 edition of this annual event will cover topics relating to energy and water in Africa, including how to invest in support of climate resilience and energy security while aligning short-term successes with host nations’ long-term visions. The opening-day keynote is titled
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Asia Pacific Microfinance Forum; October 17-18, 2023; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This event, in its fourth edition, aims to facilitate networking among investors and retail financial institutions. With a focus on market trends, the forum will address topics such as: (1) Recent Developments in Responsible Inclusive Finance; (2) Strategies to Overcome
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Responsible Finance Forum; July 5-7, 3023; Bengaluru, India
Themed “Shaping a Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem,” the upcoming edition of this event – the first in-person since 2019 – will focus on client protection to help “low-income and vulnerable” people reduce risks as they use financial tools. Although the detailed agenda has not yet been finalized, it is expected to include topics such as: (1) Balancing Responsible Finance Between
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Network (EMN) Annual Conference; June 14-16, 2023; Paris, France
Themed “Economy for the People,” the 20th annual iteration of this event will focus on financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship. The agenda will include topics such as: (1) crisis management for entrepreneurs; (2) the needs of
SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch on the European Microfinance Award 2023 – Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition
MicroCapital: Why was “Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition” chosen as the topic of this, the 14th edition of the European Microfinance Award?
Christoph Pausch: For a long time, it looked like progress in this field would be positive and continuous. But a combination of factors – among them climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the global inflationary context – means that progress in food security and nutrition may have stalled, or in fact reversed. According to the World Food Programme, “Conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and soaring fertiliser prices are combining to create a food crisis of unprecedented proportions.” And the Food and Agriculture Organization reports that the number of people affected by hunger has grown by 150 million since the onset of the pandemic. But the problem is not only one of hunger – lack of access to sufficient food – it’s also one of insufficient quality, meaning poor nutrition, and lack of access to the micronutrients necessary for good health, all compounded by the stress of uncertain supply. There may be 2 billion people worldwide in this category.
There are many sectors that have to play roles in addressing food security and nutrition. And because the people most vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition are largely those who are low-income, living in low-income countries and financially excluded, there is a vital role for the financial inclusion
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Navigating the Future of Impact Investing in Asia; May 9, 2023; Hong Kong, China
Attendees at this conference will debate investing “with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return” in Asia and worldwide. The topics to be covered include: 1) the current status of the sector; 2) methods for
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Technology for Change Asia; March 20-21, 2023; Singapore
The third iteration of this annual event will focus on how technology “can be applied to long-standing social challenges to connect with the consumer.” The event offers virtual sessions on March 20 and in-person sessions on March 21 on topics including: (1) Unlocking the Power of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Inclusion That Works for Women; March 2, 2023; London, UK
This event will review the 2022 edition of the European Microfinance Award, which was themed “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women.” Sam Mendelson of the Luxembourg-based European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) will discuss