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About the Organizers
ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need– microenterprise loans, business training and other financial services –to work their way out of poverty. ACCION and its 32 microfinance partner organizations serve over 3.7 million active borrowers throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.
ACCION Technical Advisors India, headquartered in Bangalore, has been serving the needs of Indian microfinance since 2005. ACCION's partners in India include YES SAMPANN, Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd., Saija Finance Private Limited, and Grameen Koota. With its Global Training Center, based in Bangalore, ACCION is training the next generation of microfinance specialists to deliver industry best-practices. And in bringing its successful Dialogue on Business client education program from Latin America to India, ACCION is helping to ensure that consumers of microfinance in India are informed and empowered. Learn more here.
The Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International is a collaborative effort to advance the commercial model of microfinance while upholding the interests and needs of poor clients worldwide. The Center works with a wide variety of actors – microfinance experts, banks, investors, regulators, technology firms, universities and others – to address challenges related to financial inclusion. Center staff collaborates with experts across industries to develop solutions that enhance the lives of the world’s poor. Research, events, and field-piloting focus on areas such as the double bottom line, microfinance investing, and product and process breakthroughs.
The Center’s goal is to connect the microfinance community with the major drivers of the global economy – e.g. capital markets and technology – and harness their capabilities to address the financial needs of poor people. By bringing these elements together, the Center for Financial Inclusion serves as a bridge between today’s microfinance and a future of economic opportunity for all. Learn more here.
The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving to priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, College and Careers, and Financial Capability and Asset Building. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise and Small and Growing Businesses to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.
 EDA Rural Systems is recognized as the leading development and research organization in microfinance performance assessments, capacity building and training for microfinance institutions (MFIs), and micro-enterprise promotion in India and Asia. EDA identifies the service delivery gaps in the microfinance and micro-enterprise sectors and offers practical solutions to support and develop these sectors.
EDA's work and association with multi-lateral development organisations, global not-for-profit institutions, government institutions and over 200 microfinance institutions and enterprise promotion organisations spans across 15 countries in South Asia , South-East Asia and Central Asia. Learn more at www.edurural.com.
About Our Sponsors
BlueOrchard is a leading commercial microfinance investment manager. They are made up of two companies: BlueOrchard Finance S.A. which since 2001 has provided credit to microfinance institutions (MFIs), and BlueOrchard Investments Sàrl which since 2007 has invested in the equity of MFIs and network funds. BlueOrchard presently has over USD 1 billion assets under management and works with over 125 partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in more than 40 countries. While supporting the development of small enterprises, the microfinance investment vehicles managed by BlueOrchard have continuously generated stable returns since over 10 years. Since inception in 2001 to 31 December 2009, BlueOrchard Finance S.A. has disbursed more than 800 loans totalling USD 1.1 billion to almost 200 MFIs. In India BlueOrchard Finance S.A. is one of the leading international investors. They have been active in the country since 2002 using guarantee mechanisms in partnership with local commercial banks to provide loans to Indian MFIs. They typically target tier I and tier II MFIs. Since its inception at the end of 2007, the BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund managed by BlueOrchard Investments has made 10 equity investments and so far raised USD 150 million from mainly large institutional investors. BlueOrchard is committed to facilitate a well-managed flow of capital between private investors and the microfinance industry. See www.blueorchard.com for more information.
Grameen Capital India, a first-of-its-kind social business, is an investment bank focused on advising Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and other Base-of-the-Pyramid enterprises. Grameen Capital enables MFIs and other social enterprises to access the wider capital markets, primarily the domestic capital markets, through innovative debt and equity solutions and credit rating/enhancement arrangements. It is continually educating new classes of investors about Microfinance as an attractive asset class and helping MFIs raise low-cost funds for on-lending. Grameen Capital is size agnostic and works across the spectrum from start-ups to Tier 1 MFIs. Grameen Capital has helped MFIs raise over $100M of debt and equity in just over 2 years of operations. Learn more at www.grameencapital.in.
About Our Exclusive International Media Partner
The Wall Street Journal Asia, established in 1976, has been voted the most "important business reading" among international daily newspapers in Asia in every ABRS/BE:ASIA study since the survey's inception in 1985. The Journal's China staff won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for coverage of the consequences of the nation's growth. The paper is edited and published in Hong Kong, and printed in eleven Asian cities. More than 75% of its subscribers are Asian. The Journal’s Web site for Asia is at www.asia.wsj.com and homepage for India is at www.india.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal is also published online in Japanese at www.japan.wsj.com and in Chinese at www.chinese.wsj.com.
About Our India Media Partners
| Microfinance Focus (MF) is a monthly digital magazine. It can be considered the first and only international online monthly magazine focused on the microfinance sector. Microfinance Focus initiated publishing in July 2006, and is currently distributed to over 6,000 primary subscribers. MF is focused on serving the microfinance market, and publishes articles and editorials written by experts who are practicing in the field. The editorial team behind MF has individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, all of which relate to and support the microfinance sector. MF has a distinguished advisory board that oversees the monthly publication of the magazine, and who are involved in the continuous improvement of the magazine, and the consistency of its content and presentation. Microfinance Focus is a unique, digital magazine that is focused on covering the diverse activities of the microfinance sector both in India and internationally. The editors and advisory board of MF are committed to the concept of microfinance as a means for promoting the sustainable and holistic growth of ‘poor-owned’ businesses in order to alleviate the devastating effects of poverty. The publication addresses the social and business aspects of the microfinance sector. Each issue contains articles by field experts as well as exclusive interviews with sector leaders. | |
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VCCircle.com, founded in 2005, is the leading source of independent news, information and data for the investment ecosystem. VCCircle is relied upon by an influential global community of deal makers and entrepreneurs for trusted news and incisive analysis related to Indian investments, M&A, venture capital, private equity, investment banking, public equity, and innovative business models.
VCCircle.com has 2mn page views and 2 lac unique visitors a month with 20,000 daily newsletter subscribers. The readership comprises of CXO level professionals and entrepreneurs such as CEOs, directors, corporate development and strategy heads, M&A heads, corporate finance departments, fund managers, investment bankers, financial advisers, and policy makers.
VCCircle.com is run by highly experienced journalists with a combined experience of over 60 years in tracking Indian businesses with stints in India's largest read publications. |
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