This online event will showcase the results of a survey of 5,000 microborrowers in Africa, Eurasia and Latin America regarding the “economic impacts of COVID-19” on their livelihoods. Two representatives of FINCA International will open the webinar, Scott Graham, the Director of Customer Research, and Anahit Tevosyan, the
Category: Events
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Singapore Offers $1.8m Global FinTech Innovation Challenge for Responses to COVID-19, Climate Change
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank, is hosting a competition to encourage financial technology (fintech) firms to address the changes in the business world caused by COVID-19 as well as to promote innovation relating to climate change, including in “green finance.” The competition, which is named the Global FinTech Innovation Challenge, is composed of the MAS Global FinTech Hackcelerator and the MAS FinTech Awards. The finalists for both competitions will be selected in September, and the winners
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CIS Islamic Banking and Finance Forum; POSTPONED; Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Originally, scheduled for August 13 to 15, 2020, this event has been postponed due to COVID-19. The new dates have not been announced. The first day of this event is
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd Annual Asia-Pacific (APAC) Microfinance Forum; October 26-27, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL
(This event was postponed from October 2020 and has been converted to an online format.) The first day of this event will focus on topics including the impact of COVID-19, overindebtedness, gender disparities in financing, providing services via tablets and mobile phones, and competing with digital lenders. The second day will consist of presentations and panel discussions on topics such as:
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fintech and Insurtech Innovator Summit (FINNOSUMMIT) for Innovation on Financial Services in Latin America; September 28-30, 2021; Virtual; NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to take place in Mexico City in September 2020, this virtual event offers speakers, panels and workshops related to financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech). The scheduled speakers include Sean Ringstead, the Chief Digital Officer at US-based publicly traded insurer Chubb, and Shuy Nyatta the Managing Partner at
MICROFINANCE EVENT: FinovateFall Digital; September 14-18, 2020; VIRTUAL
Originally planned as an in-person event to take place in the US city of New York, this virtual conference will cover innovation in the financial technology (fintech) industry. Session topics will include Future Banking, Future Financial Crime, Future Payments, Future Tech, and Future Wealthtech. In addition, a series of product demonstrations will culminate in a presentation of Best of Show Awards. On September 15, the second annual Finovate Awards will recognize “25 winners in fields like consumer lending, digital banking, SMB/SME, ID management and more.”
Background on Organizer: Finovate, which originated in 2007, hosts conferences with 5,000 attendees each year, including 500 speakers, 300 fintech demos and representatives of 400 financial institutions. Finovate is part of Informa Connect, a “live events and digital platform specialist connecting professionals with knowledge, ideas and opportunities.” The parent company of Informa Connect, Informa Public Limited Company, is a UK-based provider of publishing, research and events that reports profit of EUR 538 million (USD 583 million) and total assets of EUR 10.7 billion (USD 11.6 billion) for 2019.
Cost: The standard fee to attend is USD 795, with various discounts available, including approximately 50 percent off for those who register by August 14.
Event Website: https://informaconnect.com/finovatefall/
For more information, you may call +44 0 20 7017 5593 or email register[at]informaconnect.com.
By Will Boudreau, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Finovate homepage
https://finovate.com/
FinovateFall Digital webpage
https://informaconnect.com/finovatefall/
Informa PLC homepage
https://www.informa.com/
Informa PLC 2019 financial report
https://www.informa.com/globalassets/documents/investor-relations/2020/20200310-informa-full-year-2019-results-statement—final.pdf
Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor Newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: LendIt Fintech USA; September 29 – October 1, 2020; NOW VIRTUAL
Originally scheduled to take place in the US city of New York, this event will now be virtual, focusing on developments in the financial technology (fintech) industry through a series of “tracks,” each of which offers about six separate sessions. The opening day offers tracks such as: Credit and Underwriting Innovation; Applying Fintech to Financial Health; Investing: Equity and Fintech Valuation; and The Fintech Lending Triple
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women’s World Banking: Making Finance Work for Women; October 20-21, 2020; Virtual; NEW DATES AND FORMAT
Originally scheduled to take place in the US city of San Francisco, this online event will concentrate on innovations and issues related to the financial inclusion of women, including through financial technology (fintech). A Fintech Innovation Challenge will offer presenters of new ideas the chance to win access to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day, whose winners get cash awards of USD 50,000 each. Although additional details
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Market Systems Symposium; June 15 – August 31, 2020; Online – NEW DATES & FORMAT
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this symposium is being converted into a series of online events.
The purpose of this event is to “provide the inspiration, capacity building, and connections you need to strengthen and transform your market systems development practice.” The symposium organizer, EcoVentures International, is a nonprofit supporting “the growth of sustainable local economies and empowered communities using systems-thinking approaches.”
The agenda includes session such as:
SPECIAL REPORT: Highlights of European Microfinance Week 2019
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): European Microfinance Week 2019 gathered 450 leading experts from 62 countries to showcase the most exciting innovations advancing sustainable and responsible financial
SPECIAL REPORT: $110k European Microfinance Award 2020 Accepting Applications Through April 15 for “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings”
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): The European Microfinance Award 2020 “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings” is now open to organisations and programmes active in the financial inclusion sector that are innovating in the encouragement and delivery of savings to low-income and excluded populations.
This year, the Award aims to highlight the crucial role that savings can play for low-income and excluded populations, and how financial providers can encourage their effective and widespread use. To learn more about the Award, eligibility criteria, the selection process and the benefits of taking part, please consult the
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MEDA Innovate Learning Event; March 17, 2020; Ottawa, Canada – CANCELED
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
Presenters at this event will share testimony on “designing, testing, and scaling non-traditional finance solutions and agricultural technologies for smallholder farmers.” Other topics will include
SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch on the $110k European Microfinance Award 2020: Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings – Application Period Opens March 9
MicroCapital: Why was “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings” chosen as the topic of the European Microfinance Award 2020?
Christoph Pausch: For much of the past 40 years, the microfinance sector has focused overwhelmingly on credit. Credit is easier to offer and more profitable for the provider. More often than not, this results in credit being provided as the default even when other financial products – such as savings – are better suited to the needs of the client. Moreover, these other options come at both lower cost and lower
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 16th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; March 12-13, 2020; Lisbon, Portugal
This forum will cover a variety of microfinance topics in the context of shifting economic and regulatory environments. Sessions will focus on managing foreign exchange risk, corporate governance, client protection, agro-insurance and agro-finance. In advance of the event,
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Video Summary of SAM 2019, also Known as African Microfinance Week, in Burkina Faso
This five-minute video gives you a taste of what happened when 900 participants from 50 countries met for the 2019 SAM conference in Ouagadougou.
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
MicroCapital coverage of the last three SAM conferences, including vignettes demonstrating its value to participants, appears at http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/.
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SG2020: The Future of Savings Groups; POSTPONED; Durban, South Africa
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. NEW DATES HAVE NOT BEEN ANNOUNCED. The event had been scheduled to take place March 10-12, 2020.
This conference will focus on increasing the support, sustainability and number of savings groups worldwide. The organizer defines savings groups as being “comprised of 15 to 25 self-selected individuals who save together and take small loans from those savings.” The event, which is the fifth in a series that began in 2011, includes
MICROFINANCE EVENT: ICT4D (Information Communications Technology for Development) Conference; January 12, 2021; Virtual – NEW DATES AND FORMAT
The event had been scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, from April 21-23, 2020.
This conference will bring together approximately 900 delegates to explore the use of digital innovations to adapt to global challenges, such as providing humanitarian relief and building infrastructure to increase access to technology for poor people. Specific topics
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Banking and Finance Conference; April 22-23, 2020; Nairobi, Kenya
The theme of this year’s Africa Banking and Finance Conference is “Winning Practices – Rethinking Business Innovative Strategies.” The agenda comprises sessions on technology and innovation, the future of