InFiNe.lu at the 5th European Microfinance Research Conference, Porstmouth (UK), June 2017

InFiNe.lu at the 5th European Microfinance Research Conference, Porstmouth (UK), June 2017

InFiNe.lu participated in the 5th European Microfinance Research Conference which took place in Portsmouth from June 11 to June14. The event was organised by the University of Portsmouth in collaboration with e-MFP and CERMI.

The European Microfinance Research Conference is one of the primary meetings places for academic researchers working on microfinance. The theme of the conference was “Microfinance and Financial Inclusion”. During the three days of the conference, panels and parallels sessions addressed key topics including:

• Strategy and management of microfinance institutions;
• Responsible finance and client protection;
• Gender and microfinance;
• Islamic microfinance;
• Digital Financial services;
• Policy, regulation and microfinance:
• Impact of microfinance.

Practitioners and academics discussed what will microfinance look like in 2030 during the opening session. The main identified trends were, inter alia, mobile banking as main tool for financial inclusion, transformation of MFIs into regulated banks, SME Finance as key topic for investors, diversification beyond core financial products.

The conference was the opportunity to see how researchers address the crucial questions of financial inclusion: how do MFIs ensure they reach the financially excluded? How can microfinance products be tailored to meet the need of the clients? How new financial services and products, such as mobile banking, can be put at the service of the poor?

For more information about the conference click here