Date: 14 October 2010
Time: 17.00 to 20.00
Place: Bureau International de Travail (BIT), Geneva

Following Compartamos’ IPO in 2008, SKS’s listing is expected to spark a wave of new microfinance share offerings. The wish to list has fueled high growth strategies to increase equity valuations. Four countries have recently seen high growth being followed by a severe repayment crisis. Are growth strategies being pursued at the expense of portfolio quality? What is the role of corporate governance in maintaining the stability and integrity of the industry?

Join the World Microfinance Forum Geneva and Sustainable Finance Geneva for a live debate on current corporate governance issues in microfinance. Panelists will include Compartamos’ CEO Carlos Danel, the CEO of a soon-to-be listed Indian MFI and other highly prominent market shapers.

Towards investor consensus on principles and measurement?

On the 2nd of July, The World Microfinance Forum Geneva organized a debate on the way microfinance indicators fit into broader worldwide efforts to measure the social outputs and outcomes of SMEs. The event was the culmination of a week of discussions on social performance measurement (SPM) in microfinance organized by the microfinance Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) and the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC).

The debate brought together investors and experts on different tools to discuss, among others, the following questions:

Can the social performance of MF investments be compared with that of other SMEs? Is it feasible to go beyond compliance and measure the actual impact of SMEs? Are lessons from SPM in microfinance relevant for a broader range of investments? Is it possible to achieve an international consensus on SPM for all types of investments?

Panelists:

Laura Foose, Coordinator, Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) Margot Brandenburg, Associate Director, Rockefeller Foundation and responsible for the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards initiative (IRIS) Jan Olde Loohuis, Investment Analyst, Social Evaluator (SROI) Guillaume Taylor, Founder and Managing Director, 4B (Wealth Management)

Moderators:

Cedric Lombard, Founder and General Manager, Impact Finance Pete Sparreboom, Program Director, World Microfinance Forum Geneva

China is one of the ‘frontiers’ in private investment in inclusive finance. Since 2005 the government has been supporting experiments with a set of commercially oriented business models. It has also been encouraging private local and foreign investment to play a part in the development and growth of these entities.

The World Microfinance Forum Geneva seeks to assist stakeholders in the decisions that shape the future of investment in inclusive finance in China through the following activities.

A Working Group on Investment in Inclusive Finance in China, 2010 - 2012

The World Microfinance Forum Geneva is creating a 2-3 year Working Group consisting of 15-20 leading international and local investors, and selected experts. This group will be guiding pertinent, high quality research that helps to promote responsible investor behaviour and supportive government policies for investment in inclusive finance in China. The group meets with key financial regulators on a regular basis. Information meetings for international and local investors took place on the 24th and the 26th of March in Beijing.

For more information on the Working Group on Investment in Inclusive Finance in China,

China Microfinance Investor Conference 2010, Beijing, 25-26 March 2010

The World Microfinance Forum Geneva, jointly with GTZ and the People’s Bank of China, organized the largest Chinese microfinance conference ever. It focused on promoting exchange between international and Chinese investors, financial regulators and representatives of providers of inclusive financial services.

For more information on this conference,