Social Enterprise Program : Microfinance Symposium

Research Symposium: Credit Markets for the Poor

FOCUS: MICRO-FINANCE

Friday April 20th, 2007
8:30 AM – 4:15 PM

Venue: The Italian Academy
1161 Amsterdam Avenue (between 117th and 118th Streets)
New York (directions and online map).

This research symposium brings together practitioners, scholars and policy makers interested in improving the access to credit markets for the poor. Topics include the existing state of borrowing rates, default rates, and the methods used for financing and risk management of micro-loans, which is a specific method for lending to poor. In addition to informing the participants about the existing state-of-the art practices in micro-finance, the symposium will also identify major research questions facing this area in the years to come.

AGENDA
8:30 – 8:45 AM	Breakfast and Conference Registration.
8:45 – 8:55 AM	Welcome and Introduction Professor Ray Horton Director of the Social Enterprise Program.
9:00 – 9:30 AM	Academic Presentation: "Overview of Credit Markets for the Poor" Professor Patrick Bolton Columbia Business School. Based on a book edited with Howard Rosenthal. (15 minutes presentation, 15 minute Q & A)
9:30 – 10:15 AM	Academic Presentation: "The Next Billion Microfinance Customers" Professor Jonathan Morduch New York University. (20 minutes presentation, 25 minute Q & A)
10:15 – 10:30 AM	Coffee Break
10:30 – 12:00 PM	Practitioner panel discussion: "Risk Assessment and Management with Capital Markets" Moderated by Professor Chris Mayer, Columbia Business School. Brad Swanson, Partner at Developing World Markets: Financing of Micro-loans and the Role of Capital Markets (download PDF). Ray Rahman, Co-founder of MF Analytics and the Founding Partner of RSA Capital with Saif Shah Mohammed, Co-founder of MF Analytics: Securitization of BRAC – “Micro-Credit Backed Security (MCBS)”; lessons for managing risks using capital markets (download PDF). Damian von Stauffenberg, Founder and Principal of MicroRate: Survey of Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs) and Rating MFIs (download PDF).
12:00 – 1:30 PM	Break / Buffet Lunch
1:00 – 1:30 PM	Lunch discussion with Mini Roy, Managing Director, Export & Agency Finance at Citigroup Global Markets: “A Practitioner’s Perspective on Challenges in the Field of Credit Markets for the Poor and Key Future Research Issues and Data Collection.”
1:30 – 2:00 PM	Academic Presentation: "Gender Empowerment" Beatriz Armendariz (download DOC) Harvard University. Based in part on joint work with Sendhil Mullainathan (Harvard) and Dean Karlan (Yale). (15 minutes presentation, 15 minute Q & A)
2:00 – 2:30 AM	Academic Presentation: "Defaults and borrowing rates in micro-loans: some evidence, and the role of contract design and competition" (download PDF) Professor Suresh Sundaresan, Columbia Business School, with Sam Cheung (Columbia). (15 minutes presentation, 15 minute Q & A)
2:30 – 2:45 PM	Break
2:45 – 4:15 PM	Practitioner panel discussion: "Risk Sharing with Banks, Regulatory Challenges, and Technology in Lending" Moderated by Professor Suresh Sundaresan, Columbia Business School. Richard Rosenberg, CGAP and World Bank: Overview of regulatory challenges; issue of money laundering control and how it has affected the funds flow in micro-loans markets (download PDF, web link to: CGAP Focus Note 29). Bindu Ananth, ICICI Bank: Partnership Model to Managing Risk in Lending to Micro Borrowers (download PDF). Anand Shrivastav, Suvidha: Cell Phone Technology for Delivering Micro-Loans (download PDF).

Researchers and faculty who would like to attend future symposiums can contact:
sn2010 (AT) columbia (DOT) edu.