JANUARY 26 TO JANUARY 27, 2009, BERLIN, GERMANY

The ChaBaLEU-Project, a collaborative partnership of ten business, public, and academic institutions from four EU member states, will host a discussion forum entitled, “Implementing the EU Microcredit Initiative – What can we learn from developing and transforming countries?”  ChaBaLEU, short for “Character-Based Lending,” works to ensure the continued development of microcredit services and products aimed at small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) within the EU-15.  The forum intends to create a space for entrepreneurs and development leaders to discuss whether microcredit can “function as a meaningful instrument of business development in the EU.” 

Presentations and discussions will touch on one or more of the following topics:  microcredit in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Southern hemisphere; the South-North/East-West knowledge transfer; several European microcredit case studies; supply and demand for microcredit across Europe; and introductions to various microfinance perspectives—the enterprise’s, the investor’s, and the policymaker’s.  For a complete schedule, please click here.

The event will be held at the following location:

GTZ Haus Berlin
Reichpietschufer 20
10785 Berlin, Germany

The event is free, but ChaBeLEU asks that all interested participants register beforehand.  For more information on the conference, please contact Carina Schultz at Carin.schultz@gtz.de.