EVENTS & WEBINARS

A  joint event with the Financial Inclusion Forum UK (FiF) and hosted by Allen & Overy, the panel discussion presented the outcomes of the 2017 European Microfinance Award on Microfinance for Housing and the e-MFP publication Building New Foundations in Housing Microfinance. Discussion revolved around the challenges and opportunities in the current housing microfinance landscape and also looked ahead to the medium-term prospects for the sector. Speakers were: Sandra Prieto, Habitat for Humanity International's Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter; Daniel Rozas, e-MFP; Trushna Patel, who joined the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, with moderation by Sam Mendelson, e-MFP/FiF.

An afternoon workshop session with microfinance investors was held in Utrecht on 25th April, to present the NpM/e-MFP Investor Action Group/FIEC research and the publication Caveat Venditor - Towards a Conceptual Framework for Buyer Selection in Responsible Microfinance Exits, authored by Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas, on buyer selection in responsible microfinance exits. The two authors led the workshop, which was attended by representatives of four social impact investors. After briefly presenting a summary of the research findings, then ran a 'simulation' exercise of an exit, with participants taking the roles of different potential buyers before rejoining to assess the candidates from the seller's perspective. The workshop received excellent feedback, and there are plans to conduct a more extensive exit simulation exercise as a dedicated session during European Microfinance Week 2018.

Hosted by Credit Suisse in Zurich and co-organised by e-MFP, SMP and Credit Suisse, this event addressed the factors that matter in applying microfinance to ensure adequate, affordable quality education and how to effectively achieve scale in this area of financial inclusion. The panel introduced the winner and one of the finalists of the 2016 European Microfinance Award which focused on Microfinance and Access to Education. It also explored the perspective of investors and technical assistance providers who are key in growing the sector responsibly. Speakers were Elizabeth West (Jacobs Foundation), Nathan Byrd (Opportunity International), Maria Teresa Zappia (Blue Orchard) and the moderator was Bernd Balkenhol, Swiss Microfinance Platform (SMP). The event was a great success with more than 100 participants.

Hosted at Allen & Overy in London on April 10th 2017 and co-organized by the Financial Inclusion Forum UK and e-MFP, the topic was the role of MFIs in improving access to and quality of education. This event followed up on the European Microfinance Award 2016 topic and was an occasion to present the Microfinance and Access to Education - Investing in Tomorrow. The speakers were Daniel Rozas, Sam Mendelson (Arc Finance), Kaspar Wansleben (Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund) and Nathan Byrd (Education Finance group at Opportunity International).

For the first e-MFP Offsite Session, e-MFP collaborated with BNP Paribas to bring the MIMOSA Project team to Paris. The project co-founders, Emmanuelle Javoy and e-MFP's Daniel Rozas, shared their research on market saturation and overindebtedness, including a review of several countries covered by the MIMOSA Project. The event was well-attended by a cross-section of Paris-based institutions working in microfinance, including Oxus, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation, Advans, Cerise, and of course staff from BNP Paribas who hosted the event. The forum featured a number of questions and critiques of the MIMOSA market saturation model.