Boulder Institute of Microfinance

Short Biography Elisabeth Rhyne is ACCION International’s as Senior Vice President for International Operations/Africa and Senior Vice President for Policy. Ms. Rhyne leads ACCION’s operations in Africa and directs ACCION's research efforts to develop new financial products for the poor, including rural lending products, housing credit and savings and remittances.

Recognized as a leader in the field of microcredit, Ms. Rhyne has published numerous articles and four books on the topic. Most recently, she co-edited _The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development_ (Kumarian Press, 2002). Her book, _Mainstreaming Microfinance: How Lending to the Poor Began,_ Grew and Came of Age in Bolivia was published by Kumarian in 2001. She is also co-editor of _The New World of Microenterprise Finance_ (Kumarian Press 1994).

Ms. Rhyne's experience in microfinance includes her work as Director of the Office of Microenterprise Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1994 to 1998, where she developed and managed USAID's microenterprise program. Programs developed under her guidance include Microenterprise Best Practices, the USAID Implementation Grant Program, the PRIME fund, and the AIMS Project.

From 1989 to 1993, she designed and coordinated USAID's GEMINI project, a microfinance research initiative responsible for publishing over 100 titles on microenterprise best practices. Prior to joining ACCION in 2000, she worked as an independent microfinance consultant based in Mozambique. Ms. Rhyne's consulting assignments have included advising several governments on microfinance policy, as well as conducting diagnostic assessments and business planning for multiple microfinance institutions. Ms. Rhyne earned a master's and Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University. She holds a bachelor's degree in history and humanities from Stanford University.