MICROFINANCE AFRICA: CLOSING THE GAP
Day 1 | Day 2
MICROINSURANCE FOCUS DAY

Executive Briefing – Tuesday 5th July, 2011

8.30 Registration and Coffee

9.05 Chairperson’s Welcome and Opening Remarks

Brian Kuwik
Vice President & Program Manager
ACCION International

9.15 Uncovering the Developing Path of Microfinance in the Land of Opportunity

Moderator:

Edvardas Bumsteinas, Investment Officer, Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Department, European Investment Bank

Michael Edberg, Managing Director, Investments, MicroVest Capital Management

Massimo Vita, Partner, Microfinanza Srl, Technical Assistance Field Expert, REGMIFA (Cape Town) *

Jorma Paukku, Ambassador for Gender and Equality, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

• Evaluating Africa’s current economic landscape
• what are the possibilities and the limits?
• Analysing the key legal changes that have a direct impact on the microfinance environment
• Working towards a solution for cross-jurisdictional legislation
• what is being done to create a positive framework in microfinance?
• what are the country-specific challenges?
• how have these been overcome?
• Is there any political intervention in the makings?
• Why is Africa so under-represented by international funders?
• Identifying the major challenges for the African microfinance market:
• lack of capital
• transparency
• currency swaps
• competition
• What measures do financial institutions need to take to ensure that they are not all lending in the same space?
• Funding for infant MFIs
• what criteria do small and medium-sized MFIs need in order to obtain funding from investors?
• What strategies do MFIs need to be incorporating in order to enhance financial sustainability?
• Evaluating  the current developments for growing the industry:
• greenfield banks
• deposit-collecting institutions
• Uncovering experiences of NGOs which have been recently regulated
• what effect have they had on the market to date?
• Examining the current roles of:
• SME Finance
• equity investing
• Debating Consumer Lending vs. Responsible Finance
• what are the advantages of consumer lending?
• how is it beneficial to the industry?
• what does this mean in terms of responsible finance?
• Assessing microfinance on a macro level:
• what steps can be taken to improve the infrastructure?
• What new products are available with regards to the operational environment?
• Exploring the future of microfinance in Africa
• what measures can be taken for significantly decrease competition?
• technology: what is in the pipeline?
• how can this propel the microfinance sector into continued development and growth?
• what will this mean for both investors and MFIs

10.20 Morning Refreshments

11.00 Capitalising on International Partnerships to Build a Successful Microfinance Market in Africa

Moderator:

Hans Ramm, Policy Advisor - Financial & Private Sector Development , Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) & Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Edvardas Bumsteinas, Investment Officer, Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Department, European Investment Bank

Admir Imami, Executive Vice President, Corporation Financiere Europeene S.A

Maria Teresa Zappia, Chief Credit Officer, BlueOrchard Finance S.A.

• Assessing the legal environment from an investor’s perspective
• what are their views on investing in Africa?
• to what extent is Africa considered to be a potentially lucrative market?
• what are the main challenges investors face??
• Which regulations directly affect international funders?
• are these sufficient to discourage capital investment?
• What realistic measures do regulators need to take to improve microfinance?
• what can local investors do to help make the transition smoother?
• How regulators and investors can work together to decrease political instability and accelerate microfinance
• maximising microfinance by sourcing capital through international channels
• What are the strategies local investors should consider to attract global investors?
• the appeal of self-financing in terms of:
• mobilised savings
•  deposits
• Which sub-regions are open to international funding partnerships?
• what types of partnerships are open to them?
• What are the challenges involved with forming global partnerships?
• how are investors currently overcoming these hurdles?
• What is the government’s role in these partnerships?
• Creating long-term international partnerships to capitalise on sustainable growth
• establishing clear objectives for both sides to align partnership benefits
• working together to maximise opportunities
• What feasible developments lie ahead?

12.00 Reviewing  MFI Governance and Leadership in Less-Regulated Financial Markets

Frank Bakx, Microfinance Advisor, Terrafina Microfinance

• Weighing up the pros and cons of:
• cooperatives vs. non-cooperative MFIs
• foreign owenership vs. local ownerships of MFIs
• Gaining a deeper understanding of MFI governance
• what is the balance of power between the Board and its executives?
• Addressing non-enforcement of regulations and directives by supervisors and central banks
• Determining gender issues:
• reviewing the challenges of female leadership, female executives and female clients
• What is the potential capacity building of future MFI leaders?

12.30 Networking Lunch

2.00 Supporting the Establishment of Capital Markets to Develop Long-Term Sustainability and Optimise your Margin

Moderator:

Michael Edberg, Managing Director, Investments, MicroVest Capital Management LLC

Mark Allegretti, Senior Managing Partner, New Frontier Capital Advisors

Carole Maman, Financial Sector Manager, BIO

Royston Braganza,CEO, Grameen Capital

• Establishing best practice approaches for raising capital
• investing in microfinance dedicated funds
• risk-sharing
• what types of partnerships are open to lenders?
• direct equity
• what are the pros and cons?
• intermediary financing
• decreasing the risks by incorporating mezzanine support
• convertible loans
• converting MFIs from debt to equity?
• specific examples of successfully completed transformations
• issuing debt in Africa
• is there a viable investor base in-country or are they all offshore?
• private equity
• what makes this approach so attractive to investors?
• what kind of investments are PE firms looking for?
• how do they identify the best bets for maximum profit?
• What expectations can private equity investors have in terms of a good investment?
• what are their requirements for injecting more equity into MFIs?
• what are the goals they are looking to attain?
• what are the current benefits and barriers for a broader geographic footprint across Pan-Africa?
• What individual responsibilities do the government, investors and MFIs have in driving the sustainability of the market?
• How can capital markets be used more aggressively to scale up microfinance in Africa?

3.15 Scaling Up Capacity Building Efforts to the Financial System for the Benefit of Poor and Low-Income People in Africa

Rafael Jabba, SME Banking and Microfinance, Private Sector Department, African Development Bank

• Gaining insight to the Micro-Finance Trust Fund (MTF)
• Exploring the MTF’s areas of intervention:

• operational and financial transparency
• product and delivery channels for both the urban and rural

• population
• Launching Call for Proposals in order to:

• increase the quality and frequency of audits
• enhance product development in:
•  the agriculture/agro-value chain
• microinsurance

• Assessing the eligible beneficiaries:

• retail institutions
• market infrastructure institutions

• Developing a transparent and effective legislative government
• Real world examples from the MTF

3.55 Afternoon Refreshments

4.15 MSE - The Bridge from Microfinance to Banking

Moderator:

Pierre van Hedel, Managing Director, Rabobank Foundation

Handson Maeresera , Head of Microfinance, CBZ Bank

Zain Latif, Principal, TLG Capital

These days, financial institutions have put a lot of focus into the MSE marketplace; but how can MSE finance be optimised in Africa? What are today’s opportunities and threats? Join a panel of leading authorities who will explore the potential of MSE finance in Africa; the profitable ways to support this significant sector and how to align microfinance with MSE finance to create a more stable market.

• Promoting MSE finance in Africa
• what are the comparative advantages for MSE financing?
• analysing the main risks involved
• What are best practice approaches that investors need to take to fund MSEs?
• risk-sharing
• offering direct equity to MSEs
• setting up MSE funds
• Initiatives that are taking place in different regions
• what are the country-specific challenges?
• how have these been overcome?
• How can MSE finance be complementary to microfinance?
• How can one best balance the other from an investor’s perspective?
• Examples and findings for current MSE finance programmes in Africa
• Who are the MSEs in Zimbabwe?
• what is the extent of development of the sector in Zimbabwe?
• how can MSEs revive the economy in Zimbabwe?
• what are their needs?
• what are their limitations?
• how can we address these challenges?
• Specific examples of sourcing capital for Africa - Innovative MSE finance initiatives taking place today

5.15 The Future of MFIs - Injecting Cashless Banking at the Heart of Microfinance

Cameron  Goldie-Scot, Business Development,Musoni (Kenya) *

• Gaining a better understanding of Musoni and its role in microfinance
• Reviewing the technical aspects of partnership – The functionality of the back office system
• How Musoni utlises M-PESA to improve both front end and back end efficiency
• Making the most of customer feedback for:
• faster disbursements
• flexible repayments
• improved security
• Lessons learned from the first year of operations
• What are the next stages now that the model has been proved?

5.55 Chairperson’s Closing Remarks

6.05 Close of Executive Briefing