We are pleased to participate in the following two sessions during the official program at European Microfinance Week 2019. Join us!
Atlas Data Platform: A New One-Stop-Shop for the Sector
Thursday, November 21, 2019
3:45 – 5:15pm (CET) / 9:45 – 11:15 (EST)
Isabelle Barres, Campaign Director, The Smart Campaign, joins on a panel alongside BFR, CERISE, MFR and SPTF to demo and discuss the Atlas Data Platform on pricing, client protection, social, environmental and financial performance of approximately 600 financial service providers (FSPs) from 70 countries. Investors, networks, researchers and other subscribers will be able to use this data to benchmark FSPs with peers, monitor their evolution, consolidate portfolios, review country profiles, research industry trends, and analyze data through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Atlas Data Platform will be launched in 2020.
Responsible Client Choices in Finance: Whose Responsibility Is It? (Closing Plenary)
Friday, November 22, 2019
3:30 – 4:45pm (CET) / 9:30 – 10:45 (EST)
CFI Managing Director Mayada El-Zoghbi joins Gerhard Coetzee, CGAP, Tim Odgen, Financial Access Initiative, and Roshaneh Zafar, Kashf Foundation, to debate the tension between client choice and client protection. While client protection is a foundation of responsible finance, implementing it requires wrestling with a fundamental question: when does protection become a paternalistic limitation on client choice? Among responsible finance adherents, there is universal agreement that clients should be provided with clear, simple information in order to make financial decisions. But often this is seen as insufficient, and institutions and regulations go further, limiting or prohibiting certain practices because they are deemed irresponsible—thus also limiting client choices. This session will use a free debate format to explore the challenge of balancing between these two objectives—client choice and client protection.