Opportunity International’s Insight Trips provide a unique opportunity to see firsthand how microfinance work impacts clients, their families and their communities. Insight Trip participants meet Opportunity clients, attend Trust Group meetings, exchange knowledge with local loan officers, and share insights with Opportunity staff and their fellow travelers.

Here are a couple upcoming trips that they are offering:

Ghana, Educational Finance
October 21 – October 28
Experience firsthand how Opportunity International and The IDP Foundation’s innovative approach to educational finance is helping to break the cycle of poverty for the next generation. Read more

India
October 21 – October 28
Immerse yourself in the life experiences of our clients, loan officers and staff in Chennai. Take part in Trust Group meetings to hear clients’ inspirational stories. See personal and economic development in action. Read more

Malawi
October 28 – November 05
Visit the capital city of Lilongwe and as you explore the world of our clients, loan officers and staff, discover the transformational impact of savings, loans, insurance and training on families and communities. Read more

Breakfast
Date: Wednesday, July 20
Time: Doors open at 7:30 a.m., program from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Place: Grameen Foundation Technology Center — 2101 4th Avenue, Suite 1550, Seattle
RSVP: Register online or call 206-325-6690 x209
Please Note: Space is limited and registration will close at 50 attendees

Happy Hour
Date: Tuesday, July 26
Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m., brief program at 6:30 p.m.
Place: Solo Bar – 200 Roy St. Seattle, WA 98109
RSVP: Register online or on Facebook

SIMFI, a web based application that simulates a microfinance market, integrates issues faced by microfinance institution managers in their daily operations. The idea behind SIMFI is to provide realistic support for microfinance training by putting theoretical microfinance knowledge into practise. SIMFI is an exciting training environment that converts microfinance concepts into management decisions. Participating teams will become MFIs. Using their judgment and market analysis, the teams propose financial products and take management decisions in order to manage the MFI in the most sustainable way

Some key features include:

• Highly educational tool supporting microfinance
• training
• Immersive and realistic experience
• Based on the microfinance industry consensuses
• and concepts
• Interactive microfinance market simulation
• Integrated concept of competition
• Guides trainees by restricting the choice of
• decisions
• User friendly, intuitive interface with contextual
• help for trainers and trainees

Read the full PDF on SIMFI here

The ATTF and ADA are proud to present a special training workshop dedicated to simulation of Microfinance activities in MFIs. The objective of the workshop is to give theparticipants an overall overview of the Microfinance simulation game – SIMFI, created jointly byADA, ATTF and Stachanov, and how to make financial decisions based on major risks and keychange drivers in MFI. The target participants are Microfinance Training Centers or consultancy firms, whichcould be interested to use SIMFI in their microfinance training program.

The workshop will take place August 8 – 12, 2011 in Luxembourg with assistance available. For more information please click on the links below:
Workshop Invitation

Source: SEEP

In this multimedia event, panelists will discuss how technology is revolutionizing the microfinance industry and the field of economic development. The panel will be composed of academics and representatives from three microfinance organizations: Wokai, a web-based platform for funding Chineses entrepreneurs; ACCION, a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs); and Rekan Usaha Mikro Anda (RUMA), an Indonesian organization that supports microentrepreneurs. There will also be a video presentation on Mifos, a financial institution software initiative of the US-based Grameen Foundation.

Name: Technology and Microfinance Colloquium
Date: June 23, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: The Microsoft NERD Center, Horace Mann Room, One Memorial Drive, Suite 100, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Website: http://www.bostonmfclub.com/calendar
Cost: The fee to attend is USD 10 with a USD 5 discount for individuals donating used cell phones to Chiapas International’s Recycle to Eradicate Poverty program. No prior registration is required.

Background on Organizer: Founded in 2011 in the US state of Massachusetts, the Boston Microfinance Club (BMC) provides a forum for microfinance professionals and enthusiasts to connect with one another, share experiences and debate issues in the global microfinance industry.

Source: MicroCapital.org

“As far as microfinance, I’ve yet to find a topic better at building interest in the plight of the world’s poor…I’ve been in meetings with congressional offices that were notorious for being callous and blocking bills that would have improved millions of lives, but you mention the word microfinance and you instantly get a positive response.”
Clint Borgen,
Founder & President, The Borgen Project

Do you think that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty?  Are you interested in learning how you can have an impact by becoming a poverty alleviation advocate?  Join Clint Borgen, Founder and Executive Director of The Borgen Project, as he discusses the strategic reasons for US involvement in global poverty alleviation and microfinance, how people across the globe are being mobilized to make poverty a political priority, and how you can become an advocate.

Join other microfinance focused people at this months Microfinance & Microbrews event hosted by SeaMO

When:  June 22, 6 to 8 pm RSVP on Facebook here
Where: Spitfire, 2219 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Price: a suggested $5 donation

May 17, 5-7 p.m.

Grameen Foundation Technology Center Open House

Check out our new office and meet Grameen Foundation and Tech Center leadership and staff

David Edelstein, VP of Technology Programs, Alex Counts, President and CEO, Susan McCaw, Peter Bladin

RSVP HERE

Hope to see you there!

There is a great event in New York City later this month worth attending if you are in the Greater Manhattan area or willing to travel.

ACCION USA, Opportunity Fund, and Kiva bring you the Microfinance USA 2011 Conference this May 23-24 in New York City!

Are you interested in local economic development? Are you passionate about being part of the growing microfinance movement in the U.S. – and interested in learning from industry experts about the impact you can make? If so, this conference is not to be missed.

Over two days, you can:

• Network with leading practitioners and researchers in the U.S. microfinance field
• Attend plenary sessions and panels led by the nation’s leading microfinance voices.
• Deepen your understanding of the challenges facing Microfinance Institutions through case-study analysis.
• Experience microfinance first-hand by touring local microenterprises in New York.
• Debate current microfinance topics during small group sessions and networking dinners.
• Discover how people like you are impacting the domestic microenterprise industry in remarkable ways
• Collaborate with microfinance clubs, top researchers and professionals across the country

More information at the conference website.

Wokai is holding a networking even on March 9th in Seattle. Here’s the email that everyone on the Seattle Wokai email list received this evening with further details:

Looking for something fun in the middle of the week? Enjoy Art, Good Drinks, and Interesting people? Come and join Wokai volunteers and supporters alike at Vermillion – an art gallery wine bar – for “Drinks for a Better World.” on March 9th.

This event will bring together people who share an interest in microfinance, social enterprise, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and related topics. This will be a fun and informal opportunity to meet new… friends, network with socially conscious people, and share ideas. How can you say no to fun, drinks, and art all in the name of being a responsible global citizen?

Cost $15 per person. Includes drink ticket ($5 – House Beer/House Wine) and a $10 credit to a Wokai borrower of your choice.

To register for the event, please visit www.wokai.org/events, and select “March 9 Seattle: Drinks for a Better World”. Since $10 will be credited to your Wokai account, we strongly encourage you to pre-register online.

Wokai will provide complimentary Chinese pastries as well as some amazing drink specials!

When: March 9th, 5pm-8pm
Where: Vermillion, 1508 11th Ave, Seattle WA 98122

Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138395439560246

We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Jessie Zhou
President, Wokai Seattle Chapter

Hanson Wade is organizing the Investment and Innovation in Microfinance conference the 24-27^th of January in Singapore.  Microfinance in India has been a topic of conversation for all those in the industry over the last few weeks.  Recently, Amy Miller, the Programme Director for MicroFinance at Hanson Wade spoke to Suresh Krishna, Managing Director at Grameen Financial Services.

Suresh’s comments were very interesting, so we’ve compiled the highlights into an exclusive interview, which is available to download for free from the event website. Below is a snapshot of the interview:

First of all I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the work you are doing at the moment in Microfinance – could you tell me some more about your current portfolio? Sure, we provide financial services to close to half a million households.  We have a wide range of services like insurance, credit, credit plus services including water and sanitation loans and seasonal loans.  These are some of the services we provide.  We also have non-financial products in our programmes including the financial interest programme and we also do a lot of work on water and sanitation.

You mention some of the different services that you are working on including insurance, are services such as these becoming more popular? Yes pension and housing is what we are working on at the moment.   There are some specific regulations that affect the pension schemes so we are working on that and seeing how we can provide the pension service.  Housing is also something that we are working on now and is a huge focus in India.

What do you think is going to happen in MicroFinance over the next 12 months? Microfinance is going to be very different over the next 12 months compared to the 12 months that we have just had.  We will have far stricter regulations, and more of them.  I think funding to the sector will slow down.  There will be pressure to reduce the interest rates and restrictions on recovery and collection practices.  MFIs will start innovating to provide more client friendly products.  Advancements in technology such as mobile banking will enable us to reach the unreached and bring in cost effectiveness.  There will be greater financial inclusion in the country.

What does the future hold for Grameen Financial Services over the next 12 months? We need to push boundaries with our technology and our capital.  We need to design suitable products, test them and then roll them out.  A lot is going to change in the next 12 months because of high competition and changing regulations.

What is the one thing that people need to be aware of when starting to branch out into new Microfinancial products like housing or insurance? With different credit products like seasonal loans or housing loans, water and sanitation loans, we need to be sure to whom we are lending and we can’t over burden the client just because we want to provide credit

Download the full interview as well as the meeting agenda for the conference.

At the Asian Investment and Innovation in Microfinance conference, we will be addressing all of these issues with the industry’s leading figureheads.

• Regulatory changes: Benefit from an update on the regulatory architecture for Microfinance in Asia with Eric Duflos, Senior Microfinance Specialist at CGAP
• New financial services: From MicroInsurance to MicroPensions and MicroHousing, learn how to design and deliver new products
• Client protection: Hear from the Smart Campaign on the Responsibility MFIs have for their clients and the best way of protecting them
• Multiple borrowing: Join Microfinance Networks from across Asia as they discuss where the responsibility lies and how solutions can be implemented

Hanson Wade would like to offer Mykro readers an Exclusive 10% discount off the registration fee, to claim your discount please remember to quote your priority booking code: MYKRO when registering.

For those in Seattle and interested in microfinance, I hope you attend SeaMO’s Holiday Happy Hour at Barca tonight! Here are the logistics:

Where: Barca 1510 11th Avenue Seattle, WA

When: Thursday, Dec 16, 5:30 -7:30 pm

What: Get together one last time in 2010 to celebrate the progress toward financial inclusion and to hear about the upcoming year for SeaMo. Learn about the first ever Microfinance Unconference, big changes to our website, and other exciting initiatives on our horizon!

Here is the Letter from SeaMo Executive Director, Melisa Samuelson that was included in their email reminder this morning:

With the holiday season in full swing and 2011 right around the corner, I find myself reflecting on all that has been accomplished and all that remains to be done to ensure all people have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.

This year, the movement has faced arguably the greatest challenges since the inception of modern microfinance over 30 years ago.  However, in spite of recent upheaval in India and periodic scrutiny in the world press, I truly believe that thesechallenges are opportunities to think more creatively about how to improve financial inclusion for the underserved and move us closer to eradicating poverty.  I believe this trying time will ultimately be understood as the beginning of the next great era of innovation in serving the poor.

Furthermore, I know a lot of smart people who are committed to the cause and haven’t lost sight of the original mission to eradicate poverty, and this gives me much hope.  You, our SeaMo community, through tweeting, subscribing to our newsletter, connecting with us on Facebook, and attending our events are a constant reminder of that fact.

With SeaMo being entirely run by volunteers, I’m also inspired by the dedication and the countless hours that our board members have invested this past year to connect the microfinance community.  While continuing our regular Microfinance & Microbrews events –a total of five this past year with Lumana, Totem, Save Together, Washington CASH, and Jolkona–we have also branched out and tried some new event formats this year, including:

• A fundraiser for Haiti raising over $3,500 for Fonkoze.org.
• A happy hour co-hosted with Vittana that raised $461 to fund a SeaMo lending group funding four students to continue their post-secondary education in Vietnam, Nicaragua, & Peru.
• A Mobile Banking Lecture Event with Ignacio Mas of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• A Careers in Microfinance panel discussion & reception with the Global Business Center at the UW Foster School of Business.
• A panel discussion on Social Performance Metrics, co-hosted with Oikocredit, Global Washington, & the Global Business Center at the UW Foster School of Business.

And yet I´m reminded that there is a lot of work ahead of us in 2011, as 2.5 billion people still live on less than $2 a day, many lacking access to basic financial services.

To that end, in addition to our regular programming schedule, we are planning perhaps our most ambitious event yet–SeaChange, The Microfinance Unconference.  A facilitated, participant-driven “unconference” to generate solutions that will increase financial empowerment of the underserved and advance microfinance beyond microcredit, SeaChange will take place in June 2011 on the University of Washington campus (details to be announced in the next month).

In the coming year, we look forward to connecting with you whether online or offline, and advancing microfinance to truly serve the people that need it.  Here’s to a world without poverty!

Happy Holidays!

Melisa Samuelson
Executive Director, SeaMo

Lastly, here is a link to the Facebook event. Hope to see you there!!