Monday, May 23rd

ACCION Texas-Louisiana is the largest business microlender in the U.S. and that growth is largely due to its innovative lending platform. Since 2008, ACCION Texas-Louisiana has offered a web-based software -- Microloan Management Systems (MMS) -- including online application and automatic prequalification process to microlenders across the country who want to grow their loan portfolios while improving loan quality and reducing costs. Learn how standardizing the loan approval process with MMS leads to a dramatic reduction in response time, improved customer service, improved loan quality, and reduced costs while increasing overall program outcomes. ACCION Texas-Louisiana has a 17-year track record and more than $25 million in loans under management. 

Level: Advanced

Given the current economic climate, it is more critical than ever to understand what is needed to help families build assets and financial security.  There must be a clear understanding of the many factors which contribute to either building up or eroding the financial security of households, and how these factors are related to each other. Reducing poverty and achieving financial security is a dynamic process in which households iteratively gain skills, increase income, begin to save, leverage those savings into assets, and protect the gains made along the way. Increasingly, CDFIs are playing an important role in this process.  This panel will explore how leading CDFIs and public/private partnerships are addressing critical needs in developing financial security, identified by CFED in its new Household Financial Security Framework.  

Level: Open

In July of 2008, Businessweek published an article on Standards for Microfinance, reporting, “If the [microfinance] industry doesn’t curtail abuses and confusion, it faces the prospect of government crackdowns and donor funds drying up.” Such crackdowns have occurred through the No Pay Movement in Nicaragua in 2009 and most recently with the 2010 crisis in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. MFTransparency was established to promote the integrity of the microfinance industry, serving as a venue for the industry to publicly demonstrate its commitment to pricing transparency, integrity, and poverty alleviation. Join Alexandra Fiorillo, Vice President of Global Programs at MFTransparency, to learn about this important work that has gained wide recognition for making significant advances in transparent pricing across the global microfinance industry.  Fiorillo will demonstrate models that show prices charged globally, review the factors that affect pricing of micro-loans, and describe how access to this valuable information can be used by all stakeholders to make better decisions. 

Recent legislation and regulation in the U.S. financial markets raises challenges and opportunities for microfinance. In this workshop, presenters will summarize and discuss the Dodd-Frank Act, the CDFI bill, and other new stimulus legislation.  Participants are welcome to ask questions and join a discussion on what other legislation is or should be on the horizon to support microfinance in the U.S. Presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Level: Open

This panel will look at the evolution of underwriting guidelines from pre-recession to current day trends to visions for the future of microloan underwriting. How do MFI’s respond to microenterprise changes and trends? How are new products developed? How much do MFI’s rely on scorecards versus a more relationship/character based approach? Panelists will invite the audience to explore long-term strategies for scale and innovation.

Level: Moderate

How is the work of social entrepreneurs intersecting with micro-entrepreneurs? Learn from small business owners about the impact they are having on their communities, and learn from social entrepreneurs about their ideas for large-scale social impact in the United States through small businesses. How are social enterprises facilitating change, and what is the future for the intersection of social and microentrepreneurship? 

Level: Open

What do the owners of a business giving lice advice in Brooklyn, a fashion apparel shop in Harlem, and woman-owned boutique construction firm in Manhattan have in common? They are all graduates of Nell Merlino’s Make Mine a Million $ Business program, an initiative that brings together coaching and tools to help grow women-owned businesses into million dollar enterprises. Meet the outstanding entrepreneurs behind these unique businesses and learn about the role that microlending, Count Me In, and other financial investments played in their developing their businesses. 

Level: Open

“Microfinance” used to be shorthand for “microcredit.” But microfinance institutions are paying more attention to other products and services for their clients beyond credit; chief among them is savings. From starter banking and matched savings accounts to lotteries, U.S. organizations are exploring innovative approaches to support and build savings behaviors and products for microfinance consumers. Join a discussion on cutting-edge savings products in the United States and the research and partnerships that are making them possible. Hear why savings – not credit – is helping domestic groups achieve greater social impact

Level: Open