Microfinance and innovation in Africa's cities
Introductory remarks:
Dr. Dirk Willem te Velde, DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) Research Leader, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the International Economic Development Group, ODI
Chair
Professor Alison Brown, Professor of Urban Planning and International Development, Cardiff University, DEGRP Research Project Director
Speakers
Winnie Terry, CEO, Tanzania Association of Microfinance Institutions (TAMFI) (TBC)
Dr. Wolday Amha, Executive Director, Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI)
Peter Njogu Gikang'a, Portfolio Manager, Bank Supervision, Central Bank of Kenya
Katherine Hughes, Financial Inclusion Programmes Officer, CARE International
Discussants
Professor Darshini Mahadevia, Dean, Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
Professor Tegegne GebreEgziabher, Director, Institute of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University
Description
Microfinance is now a major supplier of financial services to millions of people in the emerging world. Yet there are major concerns about its reach and regulation, as well as its impact on economic growth, poverty reduction and indebtedness. For many urban micro-enterprises, access to finance depends on a range of informal or semi-formal savings and borrowing institutions. These institutions have a multiplicity of regulators and limited oversight. Meanwhile innovation is rapid, from urban self-help groups to mobile phone savings and borrowing. What protection do micro-enterprises need? How can (formal) institutions learn from innovation on the ground?
This event brings together key policy makers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania together with representatives of NGOs and other organisations. They'll examine the challenges of microfinance regulation, and debate preliminary research findings from the DFID-ESRC Growth Research (DEGRP) project led by Cardiff University, on Inclusive Growth: Improving Microfinance to Support Growth and Innovation in Micro-Enterprise.