About Boulder Institute

The Boulder Institute of Microfinance is a nonprofit organization founded to cultivate a platform for dialogue and critical thinking in microfinance.  Established in 2004 and building on 18 years of success with our Boulder Microfinance Training Program, the institute offers program participants an unparalleled opportunity to confront the sector's most critical issues and learn the latest techniques alongside leading academics and practitioners from around the world.

At the Boulder Institute, we believe that financial sustainability must be a pre-condition if microfinance institutions are to be expected to excel and expand their reach, broadly and deeply.  We maintain our focus on commercial banking for the poor, while recognizing the importance of subsidies in assisting microfinance institutions to get up and reach their intended markets.

The Institute strives not only to inform, but also to transform.  Our unique blend of traditional instruction coupled with debate and exchange endow program participants the necessary tools to be pioneering change-makers in the provision of financial services to the poor.

Upon its inception in 1995, the Boulder MFT program took off immediately, growing tenfold in three years from 20 participants in 1995 to 200 students in 1997.  Over the course of eighteen years, the Boulder MFT has graduated more than 4,200 professionals from over 145 countries.

We realized that the spirit of transformation that had become synonymous with the original flagship English Boulder MFT program needed to be more than one annual event, and therefore the Boulder Institute was founded in 2004 in order to extend this spirit into a broader range of year-round programs.  In 2005, the Boulder MFT was moved to Turin, Italy from Boulder, Colorado.  Turin, like Boulder, is known for its mountain vistas and also for its long history of café culture and lively discussion.

That same year, we established the first Boulder MFT in French which is held in tandem with the English program.  Then, in 2007, the first annual Spanish Boulder MFT was initiated in Santiago de Chile and has subsequently been held each year in different locations in Latin America.  Over the past several years, all three of the Boulder MFT programs have exhibited growth in size and scope.

The Boulder Institute gathers hundreds of the most noted leaders in the field of microfinance annually to learn about cutting edge issues, core principles, and the latest techniques for providing access to financial services for the world's poor.  The majority of participants occupy the front lines, working directly to provide financial services to low-income families in developing countries.  Others arrive from central banks or donor agencies, and relish the opportunity to interact and converse directly with practitioners engaged in best practice microfinance. 

Graduates of the Boulder MFT have gone on to become leaders of groundbreaking, world-class initiatives.  Many point to their time in a Boulder program as a critical moment in their professional path.  The Boulder MFT provides a unique opportunity to shape participants' thinking around the issues they face back home in the company of peers and industry experts who are facing the same challenges.

The Boulder Institute of Microfinance was registered as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization  in the state of Colorado in 2004.