ACCESS Development Services Announces the 8th Microfinance India Summit ‘Microfinance India Summit commences on December 12-13, 2011 in New Delhi’

ACCESS Development Services announced their 8th Microfinance India Summit on “Bridging the Hiatus, Building Trust”, in New Delhi today. The Summit, which is a two day event, will be held at The Ashok Hotel, on the 12th and 13th December 2011.
The Microfinance India Summit 2011 is a global event, which captures current debates, issues and challenges that a growing microfinance sector in India faces as it strives to reach the poor with access to financial services. This event will see eminent personalities and noteworthy speakers from various sectors coming together to present, discuss and debate on relevant topics related to the microfinance industry.
As the core assumptions of the Microfinance industry are being challenged, this year’s Summit will provide a timely platform for stakeholders to come together and discuss the current debates of client protection and social performance, the implications of a regulatory environment, the new thrust of the SHG movement and obstacles of financial inclusion. Over the years, the Microfinance India Summit has emerged to become among the most important sectoral platforms globally, bringing together thought leaders to delve into and debate key current issues in the sector.
Mr. Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services said, “The last 18 months have been tumultuous for the microfinance sector in India. The heady growth that the sector saw in the past decade came to a screeching halt by the Andhra Pradesh crisis in October 2010. The state model of SHG lending and the private sector model of joint liability groups came head to head. Several issues like unethical behaviour with clients, lack of transparency, excessive profiteering, investor greed and mission drift brought significant discredit to the sector, precipitating the need for greater regulation. Given these schisms that have emerged between the two dominant models of delivery, the drift between mission and practice and the polarization between the State and the Sector, the Summit theme for 2011 is “Bridging the Hiatus, Building Trust.” Across the two-day Summit the sessions will analyze and introspect on the issues that have led to the erosion of trust within the sector and will attempt to build consensus on how the sector can move forward. Discussions will take place on the delivery of responsible finance to the unbanked poor, how better social performance management helps institutions align with the mission of microfinance and a need to refocus on the client and her needs to deliver appropriate products and services in a more transparent and efficient manner.”

The Microfinance India Summit will witness the following panel discussion on both the days.
Day 1- December 12th, 2011
Inaugural Session: Welcome address would be delivered by Mr. Y. C. Nanda, Chairman, Microfinance India Advisory Group and Chairman, Agriculture Finance Corporation

Plenary Session I: State of the Sector – Beyond the Impasse: The lead presenter for this is Mr. N. Srinivasan, Author, State of the Sector Report

Plenary Session II: The SHG Movement: Recasting the Strategy: This session would be chaired by Mr. Y. C. Nanda, Chairman, Microfinance India Advisory Group and Chairman, Agriculture finance Corporation

Five Break Out Sessions will follow: (i) Doing it Differently, New Business Models, (ii) Responsible Growth, Informed Growth: Driving the Sector with Data, (iii) Beyond the Buzz, Embedding Social Performance within Practice, (iv) Savings First: Options for Low Income Segments and (v) Community Managed Microfinance, Enabling and Empowering.

Plenary Session III: Aadhar – The Foundation for Financial Inclusion? The lead presenter for the session will be by Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Microfinance India Awards Presentation Ceremony: The 2011 awards will be presented to the selected awardees for Microfinance Institution of the Year, Microfinance Individual of the Year and Enabling Organization of the Year.

Day 2 – December 13th, 2011
Plenary Session IV: Financial Inclusion: Taking Stock of the Challenge: This session will be have Bob Annibale, Global Director, Microfinance, Citigroup, as one of the panel speakers.

Plenary Session V: New Arrangements for SHG Financing? : The lead presenter will be B. Rajsekhar, CEO, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty.

Plenary Session VI: Social Performance: Need to Move Beyond the Buzz: Ms. Girija Srinivasan, Editor, Microfinance India SPM Report.

The break out sessions that will follow are (i) Evidence from the Field: Informing and Influencing, (ii) Client protection and Code of Conduct: From Principles to Practice and Compliance, (iii) Health Plus Microfinance – A Winning Combination for MFIs and Clients and (iv) Reducing Vulnerabilities, Securing the Future, Reaching the Poor with Micro-insurance and Pensions.

Plenary Session VII: Microfinance in a Regulatory Regime: Will Rein the Sector? : This session will be moderated by Dr. Rajiv Lall, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and Co- Founder, Lok Capital

The Microfinance India Summit 2011 will conclude on the 13th December 2011 with the Valedictory Session and Jairam Ramesh, Hon’ble Rural Development Minister, Government of India will deliver the closing remarks. The Microfinance India Summit will be followed by the Livelihoods India Conference organized by ACCESS on December 14-15 at the The Grand in New Delhi.

About Microfinance India Summit
Over the last seven years, the Microfinance India Summit, organized by ACCESS Development Services, has established itself as an international conference dedicated to Indian microfinance. As the single most important platform for dialogue and learning in the sector, the two-day event attracts approximately 1000 delegates from India and abroad. Policy makers, practitioners, promoters, academics, researchers and thought leaders share their experiences on panel discussions and analyze current trends, challenges and opportunities in the sector.
About ACCESS Development Services:
ACCESS is a not-for-profit organization whose overall aim is to incubate new institutions to enable their self-sufficiency and self-sustainability. To this end, it offers specialized technical assistance under two verticals: microfinance and livelihoods. ACCESS assists the growing microfinance sector through streamlined and structured services to emerging MFIs and supports the enabling environment through the Microfinance India platform. Under the Livelihoods Program Unit, ACCESS impacts the lives of the poor by developing sustainable solutions for scaling-up their income generation activities. To optimize its resources and maximize the results of its interventions, ACCESS believes in partnering with key stakeholders in the sector in order to develop mutually reinforcing strategies, bring convergence of competencies and build consensus on key issues.

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This release was published on openPR.