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 14 years of success with our Boulder Microfinance Training Program, the institute offers program participants an unparalleled opportunity to confront the sector's most pressing 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 market.
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 requisite tools to be pioneering change-makers in the provision of financial services.
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 fourteen years, the Boulder MFT has graduated over 2,500 professionals from 131 countries.
In 2005, the Boulder MFT 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. Every summer for the past 14 years more than 50 of the most noted leaders in the field of microfinance come together 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 Boulder MFT have often 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. 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 facing the same challenges.
The spirit of transformation that has become synonymous with the Boulder MFT should be more than an annual event, and the Boulder Institute was founded in order to extend this spirit into a broader range of year-round programs.
The Boulder Institute was registered as a non-profit organization (501-c) in the state of Colorado in 2004.