by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Islamic Finance & Banking Summit; September 27-28, 2023; Dubai, UAE – NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place beginning February 27 in Saudi Arabia (and then May 31 in UAE), this two-day event is organized with the goal of developing strategies for elevating the Islamic finance industry. The agenda offers sessions – in-person and on-line – such as: (1) Economic Growth, FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] & Islamic Banking Developments; (2) Leveraging

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: SuperReturn Africa; December 5-7, 2022; Cape Town, South Africa

The 13th edition of this event will focus on “market trends, challenges and innovations” in Africa. On December 5, the event will feature summits covering three topics: (1) fundraising; (2) infrastructure; and (3) ESG [environmental, social and governance issues] & impact. The remaining days will

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 19th Inclusive Finance India Summit; January 17-18, 2023; New Delhi, India

This event is intended to advance dialogue on the challenges associated with financial inclusion. Although the agenda has not been released to date, last year’s iteration of the summit featured sessions including

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Inclusive Finance in Africa Amid the Current Food and Climate Crises, in Anticipation of SAM 2023 in West Africa

In anticipation of SAM 2023 (Semaine Afri­caine de la Microfinance 2023), its organisers convened a panel discus­sion on October 19 as part of Accion’s Financial Inclusion Week. The panel illustrates the commitment of SAM’s organisers to nurture on­going dia­logue on the issues faced by the inclusive finance sector. The objective was to share and question the strategies being used to address issues faced by the agricultural sector, which remains one of the least financed due to investors’ per­ception of it as high-risk.

Climate change coupled with social and political turmoil is negatively impacting agricultural value chains in particular and global food security in general. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is lowering food security and agricultural pro­duction in many developing countries, as the warring nations are two of the largest exporters of key agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, sunflower oil and fertiliser. The Horn of Africa could suffer the worst effects of the war because of its ongoing food crisis following three years of severe drought, the COVID-19 pan­demic and protracted local conflicts. Market volatility and rises in energy costs, input costs, interest rates and perceived risk are expected to lead to higher costs of borrow­ing, credit crunches, and unmet working capital and liquidity needs.

Addressing these issues at the Financial Inclusion Week panel were:

– Jacques Afetor, Executive Director of Assilassimé Solidarité, a Togolese MFI supporting

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Is Almost Here!

e-MFP logoEuropean Microfinance Week (EMW) 2022 is fast approaching, and we’re delighted that it will be in-person again, with a hybrid component for remote speakers and participants. EMW2022 offers more than 30 sessions organised across several thematic streams, including “Finan­cial Inclusion that Works for Women” – the topic of the European Micro­finance Award 2022 – as well as green and climate-smart finance, digital­isation, funding, financial health, and social performance and impact. Other subject areas include agri-insurance, women’s leadership, fund regu­la­tion, mobile money, biodiversity, refugee finance, WASH, food security and more. To give MicroCapital readers a sense of what they can look forward to, here are some details of just three of the EMW2022 thematic streams:

Climate and Green Finance
Climate change represents one of the greatest issues the world faces today. While the changing climate impacts all countries, sectors and people, they are not all affected in the same ways. Climate change is par­ticularly threatening to poor and marginalised communities. Tackling the issue requires battling on many fronts – not just on the mitigation side (mini­mising the actual climate change that takes place), but on the adap­ta­­tion side too. The financial inclusion sector has an important role in increas­ing the resilience of communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and EMW2022 will feature a variety of related sessions, including:

by Nithin Naren -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 18th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; March 16-17, 2023; Prague, Czech Republic

In the context of lingering pandemic-induced caution among investors, this event promises to cover a variety of topics relevant to microfinance investors, practitioners and other stakeholders. In addition to addressing “how MFIs [microfinance institutions] adapt to and run in the new reality [and] complications for micro clients,” sessions will cover

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Themed “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” Financial Inclusion Week 2022 Offers 180 Virtual Sessions, October 17-20

For the eighth year, the Center for Financial Inclusion, a program of the US-based NGO Accion, is organizing Financial Inclusion Week, an opportunity for all stakeholders to attend virtual sessions – both live and on-demand – at no charge. The theme for 2022 is “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” with sessions covering 14 topics such as Climate Change, Client Protection,

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 2-4, 2022; Cape Town, South Africa

The eighth edition of this event offers attendees 21 sessions presented by stakeholders representing fintech [financial technology] firms and investors overseeing total capital of USD 4.5 billion. The detailed event program is yet to be announced, but it is to include

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week 2022, Luxembourg & Virtual, November 16-18

Christoph Pausch, e-MFPMicroCapital: European Microfinance Week (EMW) 2022 will be in-person for the first time in 3 years. What can we expect?

Christoph Pausch (pictured): We’re very excited to be going back to an in-person conference at the beautiful Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg. For the last two years, EMW has been virtual, and we are very proud of how both editions went, but – as I think everyone agrees – an online conference, however professional and comprehensive, can never entirely substitute for meeting in-person. You cannot fully replicate the richness of dis­cussion within a room or the opportunities for exchange, debate and networking that gathering face-to-face allows.

You’ll see some innovations at EMW2022, as we’re taking much of what worked over the last couple of years and incorporating it into the in-person event. Among other things, that means some sessions will be in a hybrid format, so attendees and speakers who cannot come to Lux­em­bourg can take part. Also this year, the conference proper starts on Wed­nesday at lunchtime, so that our opening will be timezone-suitable for more remote participants.

MC: What range of sessions can attendees choose from?

CP: As always, EMW sessions have been put forward largely by our members and organised across several thematic streams, such as “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” (the topic of the Euro­pean Microfinance Award), climate-smart finance, digitalisation and