Conference Agenda:

Time	Event	Room
7:45 am - 8:45 am	Registration and Breakfast	621
8:45 am – 8:50 am	Welcome/Opening Remarks	621
8:50 am - 9:30 am	Morning Keynote Address: Elizabeth Funk - Board Chair, UNITUS Keynote Address (mp3)	621
9:30 am – 9:45 am	Break
9:45 am – 10:45 am	Plenary Panel: New Partnerships between MFIs and Capital Markets	621
10:45 am – 11:00 am	Break
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	Breakout Session-AM:
	Technology	621
	Scale Up	100
12:00 pm – 12:15 pm	Break
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm	Lunch and Learns I:
	Expanding Indian Microfinance Through Integrative Technology, an Oracle Study	206
	Strategies to Help the Bottom Billion	208
	WAM – Women Advancing Microfinance I	100
1:00 pm – 1:15 pm	Break
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm	Lunch and Learns II:
	Engaging the Private Sector: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities , ACCION International	206
	MicroRate's 2007 Microfinance Vehicles Survey	208
	From Classroom to Field: The HELP Intl and CMI Stories	204
	WAM-Women Advancing Microfinance II	100
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm	Break
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm	Breakout Session-PM
	Government, Laws, and Regulations	621
	Environmental Sustainable Microfinance Practices	100
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm	Break
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm	Plenary Panel: Challenges in Combining Financial and Social Returns	621
4:30 pm – 5:15 pm	Evening Keynote Address Larry Reed - Academic Vice President, Boulder Institute of Microfinance - Keynote Presentation	621
5:15 pm – 7:00 pm	Cash Bar Reception	Midway Club

9:45 am – 10:45 am Plenary Panel

New Partnerships between MFIs and Capital Markets - Room 621
Microfinance access to capital has been increasing and diversified. As more and more investors are getting involved in the field, this raises the question of who these investors are, what their motivations and expectations are, and if these expectations can be met. The panel will also discuss the mutual benefits for investors and MFIs and innovative ways for MFIs to access capital and structure transactions while maintaining their social objectives.

Panelists:
Simone Balch, Developing World Markets
Bridget Burkhardt, ShoreBank International
Mike Gabriel, Grameen Foundation
Henry Gonzalez, Morgan Stanley Microfinance Group

Moderator: Leslie Davis, ShoreBank

11:00 am— 12:00 pm Breakout Session 1

Technology - Room 621
While technology applications to food production, health care, and transportation in the developing world can be readily understood, a question remains as to whether innovations and applications of new information and communications technology can bring about similar changes and gains to services industries in the developing world. This panel observes the financial services industry through the work of the microfinance organizations and their various support organizations.

Is the microfinance industry "ready" to have innovative high technology introduced into its operations? If so, what are the basic "key success factors" necessary for this technology to give substantial benefit to its users? In a situation where the comparative advantage lies in low labor costs, does it make sense to use technology to displace this labor in the production process? Are our basic economic and technology assumptions at odds with reality here? As the rate of innovation increases in information technology, how can microfinance organizations decide and avoid the costs of technological obsolescence and expensive upgrades? Does the introduction of higher technology innovation call for more cooperative strategies to both cover the costs and provide scale economies? Does technological competition make sense here?

Panelists:
Lisa Lobue, IBM - Presentation
Amitabh Saxena, ACCION International
Paddy Srinivasan, Oracle - Presentation
Peter Wall, The MIX - Presentation

Moderator: Robert S. Spich, Ph.D., Anderson School of Management, UCLA

Scale Up - Room 100
Scaling microfinance to replicate successful strategies often means developing innovative solutions to meet significant distribution challenges. Creative channel strategies and the use of cutting-edge technology are frequently employed to aid in scaling up. This panel will review how MFIs are scaling up and at what rate. It will also address the roadblocks that may be preventing scaling up, as well as what organizations must do to scale up: consolidation, partnership, or commercialization?

Panelists:
Brian Lehnen, Village Enterprise Fund
Luisa Pulido, Bancrecer
Damian von Stauffenberg, MicroRate

Moderator: Lisa G. Thomas, ShoreCap Exchange

12:15 pm- 1:00 pm Lunch and Learns I

Expanding Indian Microfinance Through Integrative Technology - Room 206
An Oracle (OARDC) Study By Jill Bangser Fioravanti, Ann Le, Rajesh Sharma, Yumna Siddiqi, UCLA - Presentation

The team will describe the research it conducted as part of its capstone MBA project at UCLA Anderson. The presentation will provide a broad view of the microfinance market in India and the use of technology to meet the vast unmet demand for microfinance in India.

Strategies to Help the Bottom Billion - Room 208
By Tom Coleman, Microfinance Consulting - Presentation

For size of business, market and profit potential reasons, the top 3 billion people in the "Base of the Pyramid" generally represent a more attractive target market than the bottom billion people. There are strong business and profit reasons for microfinance to serve the top 3 billion people in the "Base of the Pyramid."

From a social perspective, the bottom billion offers the most exciting market. This is the group that suffers the most from poverty and endures the largest numbers of the 26,000 daily deaths from poverty. The human rewards from success in this segment are unparalleled.

Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) I - Room 100

WAM Board Member Beth Houle will speak on lessons learned from commercial banking about women in senior management and the applications to microfinance. Other leading women in microfinance will also share from their professional experience including Bhuvana Nataraj from Chennai, India and Estelle Berger from Opportunity International, Sharlene Brown from the Grameen Foundation, Mary McVay from the SEEP Network, Ann Miles from BlueOrchard Finance, Donna Nails consultant with ShoreBank Advisory Services, Kathleen Robbins from GreenMicrofinance, Lynn Pikholz from ShoreCap Exchange, and Raven Smith from AIG. There will be ample time to ask questions and meet great women in microfinance.
www.wam-international.org.

1:15 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch and Learns II

Engaging the Private Sector: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities - Room 206
By Josh Goldstein & Amitabh Saxena, ACCION

Microfinance, once the purview of small NGOs, caught the eye of the private sector – first of multinational retail banks, then of Wall Street firms – nearly a decade ago. Now a range of unexpected and powerful stakeholders are starting to enter the fray: from payment networks such as Visa, cement producers like CEMEX, and mobile operators such as Telefonica. Should MFIs seek to compete or collaborate with these new entrants – and how? Based on ACCION's experience engaging with these corporate actors, Josh Goldstein, Principal Senior Director of ACCION's new Center for Financial Inclusion, and Amitabh Saxena, Director of Alternative Channels in its Marketing and Product Development Unit, will lead this interactive discussion on the merits and challenges of working with the private sector.

MicroRate’s 2007 Microfinance Vehicles Survey - Room 208
By Damian von Stauffenberg, MicroRate - Presentation

Capital flows from capital markets in rich countries to microfinance institutions in poor countries have become a major factor shaping the microfinance industry. However, the size and nature of these flows is often not well understood. For three years, MicroRate, the leading Rating Agency specializing in microfinance has tracked the development of specialized Funds and other intermediaries that channel money into microfinance ("Microfinance Investment Vehicles – MIVs"). The results of the latest survey, with 2007 data have just become available.

The survey examines the current state of the MIV and MFI industries in order to track new and existing trends and to identify the causal market conditions. Specifically, the data collected in our Survey showed significant growth in the MIV industry. We were also able to determine the top 10 MIVs as well as the geographic portfolio concentrations. This analysis will be used to predict future trends and to anticipate the necessary framework needed for the industry’s future growth. This information is also important for assessing the possibility of potential setbacks and future threats to the growth of these sectors.

From Classroom to Field: The HELP International and CMI Stories - Room 204
by Lisa Jones Christensen, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at UNC Kenan-Flager - Presentation

This session will outline how microfinance education in an academic setting can lead to student activism and even the formation of a stand-alone microfinance-related NGO. We will discuss how HELP International was formed as a result of a classroom “experiment” and will also cover the results of more recent classroom projects. In particular, items to address include student-designed international microfinance projects, student-created partnerships with organizations such as Kiva, and lessons from the field regarding teaching and training student practitioners. Attendees will be able to discuss replicating results in their own institutions as well as the pros and cons of utilizing students to expand the boundaries of microfinance.

Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) II - Networking - Room 100

WAM Board Member Beth Houle will speak on lessons learned from commercial banking about women in senior management and the applications to microfinance. Other leading women in microfinance will also share from their professional experience including Bhuvana Nataraj from Chennai, India and Estelle Berger from Opportunity International, Sharlene Brown from the Grameen Foundation, Mary McVay from the SEEP Network, Ann Miles from BlueOrchard Finance, Donna Nails consultant with ShoreBank Advisory Services, Kathleen Robbins from GreenMicrofinance, Lynn Pikholz from ShoreCap Exchange, and Raven Smith from AIG. There will be ample time to ask questions and meet great women in microfinance.
www.wam-international.org.

2:15 pm - 3:15 pm Breakout Session 2

Environmental Sustainable Microfinance Practices - Room 100
The growing awareness of a climate crisis has sparked a new field in microfinance and renewable energy. Microfinance may play a significant role in issues addressing climate change. This panel will concentrate on the impact that energy microenterprises and microfinance has on the natural environment. Can microfinance be effectively utilized as a tool for environmental objectives? How can MFIs promote both environmental sustainability and poverty reduction? Can a business model be designed to reach the poorest people using environmentally friendly technologies, and not putting undue strain on MFIs?

Panelists:
Dr. Lionel Lopez, Technoserve - Presentation
Kathleen Robbins, Green Microfinance - Presentation

Moderator: Joel Freehling, ShoreBank

Government, Laws and Regulation - Room 621
Recent headlines from countries as diverse as Bolivia, Benin and India show that governments play a crucial role in promoting or hindering the development of microfinance. What are the characteristics of conducive microfinance legal frameworks and policies, and why do governments sometimes chose to intervene directly in microfinance? This panel discusses the role of governments and the challenges posed to legal and regulatory frameworks by trends such as the commercialization of the industry, branchless banking, and country-wide fluctuations in portfolio quality.

Panelists:
Paul Christensen, Kellogg School of Management,
Jeremiah Grossman, IRIS Center, University of Maryland
David Constantijn Kruijff, IFC
Maria Virginia Vilela, FINCA International

Moderator: Annette Krauss, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Plenary Panel

Challenges in Combining Financial and Social Returns - Room 621
What are social returns in microfinance and what measurable social returns do MFIs produce? Have better financial returns helped the progress of microfinance and increased the social return of microfinance? How? Will existing financial incentives in microfinance drive social results or will social incentives need to be cultivated to drive results? How might new financial incentives be created to help drive social results—especially social results such as serving more of the bottom billion people or serving clients in some of the poorest countries in Africa, where current financial incentives may not be attracting as much MFI focus or investor financing?

Panelists:
Sharlene Brown, Grameen Foundation
Patrick Fisher, Creation Investments, LLC
Dennis Ripley, Opportunity International
Raven Smith, AIG
Ann Miles, BlueOrchard

Moderator: Tom Coleman, Microfinance Consulting