In the past two decades, microfinance has received an increasing attention from Governments, NGOs and the private sector. Besides playing a role in poverty alleviation it has also widely participated in the creation of a growing “Enterprise Culture”. A huge wave of Microfinance graduates is slowly becoming the new generation of small and medium entrepreneurs. They can also change the mindset of commercial financial institutions and create new opportunities for NGOs in the private sector. This is a big challenge with a high potential impact on employment if properly addressed. The main issues are to accompany this growing number of small businesses from the informal to the formal sector and to find practical solutions to fill the gap in knowledge and finance. We need to be innovative to work efficiently at the frontier between the two sectors. It's definitely time to build a bridge between Micro and SME Finance to address one of the most crucial questions in the present century.
To address this challenge, SEDF has invited speakers from all over the world for this International Conference on Bridging The Gap Between Micro and SME Finance: CEOs and MDs from international and local commercial banks with tremendous experience in both sectors, NGOs with a worldwide knowledge of up-scaling issues, regulators, international consulting firms and colleagues from the World Bank Group including the IFC and CGAP. All those leading speakers from Asia, Africa, Europe and the US will share their expertise in Microfinance and SME Finance and discuss solutions to help build this bridge. Bankers will share with other bankers best practices as well as train Micro Enterprises and SMEs on necessary steps to transition and achieve the next level.
| Who should participate ? |
|
Why should you participate ? |
• Donors working on projects related involving microfinance and small businesses |
|
• Listen and participate to active discussions and sharing of experience with high level practitioners in micro and SME Finance |
| • MDs, CEOs and senior staff of banks and other financial institutions |
|
• Increase your knowledge of both micro and SME segments |
| • Heads of SME Departments in Financial institutions |
|
• Better understand the major challenges of accompanying a growing business from the informal to the formal sector |
| • Officials from ministries of finance and ministries of commerce |
|
• Learn from international experience to elaborate solutions for addressing growing expectations for financial and non financial services from small clients in their business development |
| • Central bankers and regulators |
|
• Strengthen your network through interactions with actors from banking and non banking sectors aiming at assisting small businesses |
| • Managers and senior staff of Microfinance Institutions |
|
|
| • Managers and senior staff of NGOs with an activity in Microfinance |
|
|
| • Self Help Groups and other Representatives of Communities of borrowers / savers |
|
|
| • Small and medium entrepreneurs |
|
|
| • Leading consulting firms |
|
|
