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New ! Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services: Expanding the Rural Frontier

September 18-20th at the University of Bergamo in Italy

Join leading academic researchers and key policymakers as they tackle and discuss the unique challenges associated with delivering and expanding the frontier for rural finance to the poor. The Boulder Institute of Microfinance in partnership with the University of Bergamo has designed a forum to engender dialogue and shorten the cycle between ideas, research, and the practical application of policies designed to expand the delivery of financial services to poor people.

This year’s inaugural conference is supported by the Rural Finance Program at The Ohio State University.

 

Official Boulder-Bergamo Forum Website, click here

See preliminary Schedule with confirmed speakers, click here

Call for Posters, click here

 

We are extremely pleased with the level of interest and excitement this Forum has generated in the academic community. Leading researchers such as Gershon Feder (World Bank), Dean Karlan (Yale), Jonathon Morduch (NYU), Jerry Skees (U. of Kentucky), and Robert Townsend (U. of Chicago) are signed up to deliver plenary presentations. We will also have presentations and dialogues by over 40 distinguished policymakers, practitioners, and funders from around the world, namely Juan Antonio Morales (Former President of the Central Bank of Bolivia), Crispin Bokea (Central Bank of Kenya), Peer Stein (IFC), Thorsten Beck (World Bank), and Alexander Sarris (FAO).

The primary purpose of this inaugural conference is to shorten the cycle between ideas, research, and the practical application of policies designed to expand the delivery of financial services to poor people. We believe that by facilitating this dialogue the financial sector will be able to:

  • Improve the relevance and applicability of research carried out in the field of finance and development in general and rural finance in particular.
  • Assist policy makers in designing and implementing more effective interventions in order to support and promote financial inclusion.
  • Generate new approaches for reaching the poor with financial services and improve the scale and quality of existing approaches.
  • Expand the number of people reached with financial services, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

The presenters will address current research and relevant findings in rural finance and cover a range of topics such as:

  • Interest Rate Subsidies
  • Value Chain Analysis
  • Technology
  • Index Insurance
  • Credit Bureaus
  • Risk
  • Access to Finance
  • Savings design
  • Program Impact

The conference will include an open call for poster presentations as an opportunity for young researchers to gain the attention of industry acclaimed researchers and funders. A reviewed competition will in turn take place resulting in the publication of the most innovative and progressive presentation topics.

To be part of this challenging conference and for additional information about registering, please contact us at info@bouldermft.org or (206) 965-9270

Sun, 2006-12-31 21:35