Paul DiLeo moderated closing plenary at EMW2017

The closing plenary, “Microfinance: positioning ourselves for the next decade,” will bring together leaders from the microfinance and broader impact investing community to extract key recommendations for the future of the microfinance industry. Paul DiLeo will be joined by John Alex, Equitas India; Timothy Ogden, Financial Access Initiative; and Renée Chao-Béroff, PAMIGA. Click here for the video on Nextbillion.net.

This session builds on the discussions of the workshop that took place in March 2017 hosted by the Martindale Center of Lehigh University, “Microfinance Industry: Revolution or Footnote”, and the subsequent blog series. Microfinance has been the leading market-based response to addressing the needs of families in poverty, and consistently ranks as the largest single sector among “impact investments” according to annual surveys; however the industry has faced criticism and strategic challenges. How will microfinance respond and adapt? Is microfinance yesterday’s solution, to be supplanted by more cutting edge, “impactful” initiatives, or does it remain, as the only pro-poor impact business model to achieve scale, the most promising means to achieve social objectives? This session will discuss how the industry can position itself for the next decade.

European Microfinance Week (EMW2017) is an annual event bringing together nearly 500 investors, funders, practitioners, researchers, and others involved in the microfinance and financial inclusion sector. Visit the EMW conference website for more information, registration and the full agenda.