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University Meets Microfinance (2010-2016)

Activity period: 2010 – 2016

Background

University Meets Microfinance (UMM) was a European initiative that aimed to foster cooperation between European universities, students and microfinance practitioners to contribute to microfinance innovation and education for sustainable development. UMM was launched by PlaNet Finance and Freie Universität Berlin in 2009 with the support of the European Union, the PlaNet Finance Foundation and other partners to meet students and academics' growing interest in microfinance education and research. Among the partners involved in UMM, beyond e-MFP, were the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank Institute (EIB-I), and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.


Objectives

To perform as an innovative task force active at the different levels of education, knowledge creation, capitalization and dissemination in the fields of microfinance and inclusive finance in response to the interest of several e-MFP members to further enhance students' research and microfinance education and to develop linkages between students, researchers, academics and practitioners in order to produce quality research outputs.


Activities

  • Scholarships for field research or internships

  • Research Award for Graduate Students (PhD and Masters)

  • Training on microfinance and thematic workshops in different European Universities

  • Thematic Publications


Achievements

  • Close to 60 academics from 41 universities and 65 microfinance practitioners from 36 organisations volunteered to support UMM as Selection Committee members of the UMM Awards.

  • UMM workshops and events gathered more than 4,600 students, professors, and practitioners from more than 10 European countries.


Resources

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