SPECIAL REPORT: Muktinath Bikas Bank of Nepal Wins $119k European Microfinance Award for Excellence in Savings

From European Microfinance Platformthe European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): Banks’ traditional activities include the collection of savings, the distribution of loans and the provision of means of payment. Credit products (also known as micro-credit solutions) were the first products to be developed in inclusive finance. Being more lucrative for the service provider, loans have long been the only type of product offered by banks. Yet, savings products also carry many advantages. For vulnerable, excluded and low-income populations, savings help secure a

SPECIAL REPORT: Minimizing Setbacks for Women, Girls Under COVID-19; Taking Advantage of the Pandemic to Liberalize Regulation, Boost Access to Digital Financial Services

Mary European Microfinance PlatformEllen Iskenderian of the US-based NGO Women’s World Banking (WWB) spoke today, the closing day of European Microfinance Week, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls. Of the challenges they face, she said “COVID didn’t create these gaps, but it shines a bright light on the fissures, and we don’t want to see these grow larger.” As an example, she cited the strides made in recent years in terms of enrolling girls in primary education. She called this the single most powerful tool for creating development impact. However, one of the first things she has seen families in developing countries doing in response to COVID-19 is taking their daughters out of school.

On the positive side, Ms Iskenderian noted “a silver lining, that

SPECIAL REPORT: Resilience Among Microfinance Institutions? “Region of Crisis” Relatively Stable; “Moratorium Veil” Yet to Lift

As European Microfinance Platformpart of the opening day of European Microfinance Week, Mohammed Khaled of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation stated that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the microfinance sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) so far have not been as bad as was feared earlier in 2020. Most of the large microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the region have maintained 30-day portfolio-at-risk (PAR) ratios below 4 percent. Mr Khaled said, “Among leading MFIs, PAR did not rise as high as expected. We thought [it might rise to] 10 percent to 20 percent, but many MFIs have kept things under control.” Part of the reason for this, he believes is that “this is

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Action Group Meeting: Investors Not Incentivizing MFIs Sufficiently re Measuring Social Performance

DuringEuropean Microfinance Platform today’s opening sessions of European Microfinance Week, e-MFP’s Investor Action Group met to discuss social performance measurement within microfinance institutions (MFIs). Calum Scott of US-based NGO Opportunity International described his organization’s efforts to work with MFIs to measure client outcomes. He specified that Opportunity generally does not seek to measure client impact, as that has proven too resource-intensive for its purposes. However, he argued that, “The pandemic doesn’t make outcomes data less important. If anything it makes it more important to know if and how your products are helping clients.” Of Opportunity’s partners, 95 percent use

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Launches with Arguments for Client Protection, Community Approaches, Savings vs Credit, Biscuits vs Guns

European European Microfinance PlatformMicrofinance Week 2020 launched today with Action Group meetings; opening remarks from Christophe Schiltz of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs; and a keynote address by Ela Bhatt, the founder of India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association.

Mr Schiltz commented on the need for continued emphasis on client protection as the COVID-19 pandemic stresses both financial services providers (FSPs) and households. He also quoted from the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) COVID-19 Financial Inclusion Compass that the pandemic has created the opportunity to improve the financial inclusion sector in ways “that the gravitational pull of the status quo would never allow in more normal times.”

Ela Bhatt noted that her organization and others were focused on savings back in the 1970s before microcredit became

SPECIAL REPORT: 40+ Reasons to Attend European Microfinance Week Online This Month

MicroCapitalEuropean Microfinance Platform: European Microfinance Week 2020 (EMW2020) – like so many events nowadays – is going virtual. How will this change the conference? What will the experience be like for attendees?

Christoph Pausch: EMW2020 remains – like in all years – a member-led conference, with the agenda constructed around what members indicate they find most important each year. So that hasn’t changed at all. But there will be clear differences, of course. There still will be a diverse range of sessions over three days (even more than usual in fact, with close to 50 events on the programme). But going online dictates that we be imaginative and innovative in the format and presentation of those sessions. Attendees will experience a huge range of event types – big plenaries and traditional panel discussions, but also fireside chats, keynotes, case study presentations, working sessions, topic lounges and publication launches, including of

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: World Finance Conference; August 3-6, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL

Originally planned as an in-person event at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, this online program will cover the following themes: Sustainable Finance, Investments, Corporate Governance and Accounting. The papers that have been accepted for presentation cover

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 17th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; April 22-23, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL

Originally planned to take place in person in Prague, this virtual event is centered on helping actors in the microfinance industry to prosper in the context of future economic and regulatory environments. Session topics include repayment suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: AFSIC Investing in Africa; October 11-12, 2021; London, UK – NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place in May 2021, AFSIC (Africa Financial Services Investment Conference) Investing in Africa will focus on “strengthening trade and investment in Africa” with sessions on “sustainable” finance, financial technology (fintech) innovation, banking in Africa and “informed” investing. Attendees may also access investor-project matchmaking sessions,

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Registration Open for Virtual Conference; November 18-20, 2020

From European Microfinance Platformthe European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): It has been a difficult few months, and during this time we at e-MFP have engaged with our members and friends to mobilize resources and adapt our activities to best mitigate the effects this pandemic brings to our sector and the vulnerable people we as a community serve.

One of our flagship activities is European Microfinance Week (EMW), held annually in November, and with it in mind we have been closely monitoring the public health situation globally. Now more than ever it’s vital to connect and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion’s CFI to Hold 6th Annual Financial Inclusion Week; October 13-16, 2020

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an initiative of US-based NGO Accion, is planning to hold the sixth iteration of its Financial Inclusion Week (FIW), an annual event aimed at promoting financial inclusion, from October 13 to October 16. FIW 2020 will focus on four of CFI’s priorities: (1) Consumer Protection; (2) Data Opportunities and Risks for Financial Inclusion; (3) Women’s Financial Inclusion; and (4) Financial Services for Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Risk. The event is aligned with the initiative’s recent moves

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Digital Investing, from Informa Connect; November 24, 2020; London, United Kingdom

The Informa Connect Digital Investing Event is scheduled to include panels, debates, demos, workshops and live broadcasts on topics such as machine learning, portfolio management, artificial intelligence (AI), digital financial inclusion, blockchain and distribution, data and cybersecurity, and advisor technology and digital financial planning. The event was

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Insurtech Summit; March 2-4, 2021; NEW DATES AND FORMAT

Formerly scheduled to take place in Istanbul in October 2020, this summit is centered around technological developments in the insurance industry. It is scheduled to include 70 speakers and panelists offering product demos and addressing topics such as How to Create Profitable Partnerships and Start Growing Revenue and Profit, Smartphones as a Digital Marketplace for Insurance Carriers, and Distribution Channels. Additionally, the CEO of Democrance, an insurance technology (insurtech) startup, will

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Going Virtual November 18-20, 2020

Save European Microfinance Platformthe date for this year’s European Microfinance Week, which will occur online from November 18 to November 20, 2020! The agenda will include all of the hallmarks of this annual event, including Action Group meetings, incisive plenaries, and the presentation of the 2020 European Microfinance Award for “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings.” More details will be released soon

This notice is part of a sponsored series on European Microfinance Week. This event is held annually by the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network with approximately 130 members. MicroCapital has been engaged to cover the event on-site each year since 2012.

Sources and Additional Resources

European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Action Groups
http://www.e-mfp.eu/action-groups

European Microfinance Award
http://www.e-mfp.eu/award

MicroCapital coverage since 2012 of European Microfinance Week, including each European Microfinance Award
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BCEAO Revising Microfinance Regulation to Promote “Responsible” Digital Financial Inclusion in West Africa; Supported by FAPSFD, UNCDF

The Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), the central bank of the eight countries of the Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA), is finalizing an updated set of regulations on microfinance with support from institutions including the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Fédération des Associations Professionelles des Systèms Financiers Décentralizés (FAPSFD), which represents groups of microfinance practitioners in each country of UEMOA. FAPSFD President Azartou Sondo Nignan explains that

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 9-12, 2020; Virtual; NEW FORMAT AND DATES

Originally scheduled to take place during October in the US city of Washington, DC, this event was converted to a digital format. The summit will include sessions on blockchain, revenue models for financial technology (fintech), “InsurTech [Insurance Technology] in Africa,” and “Digital Identity and Financial Inclusion.” There will also be: (1) a pitch competition serving as a regional final for the StartUp World Cup, a contest with a grand prize of USD 1 million; and (2) an Alpha Expo, “an opportunity for