Expanding the Frontier and Transforming Microfinance: Continuing the Conversation

This paper is a summary of the many conversations begun at the conference,Expanding the Frontier: Transforming Microfinance into a Global Financial Markets Instrument. It is intended to reinforce the ideas, discussions and commitment generated by the conference with the goal of extending and sustaining its impact.

The paper discusses in detail the presentations of the participants, providing an insight in to the various challenges and opportunities of the microfinance sector.It lists the suggestions from session participants for the best ways to present the message on microfinance to a financial audience. Some of the issues discussed were:

• Find better ways of measuring and assessing risk;
• Cast microfinance investing as an investment in people; concepts of social responsible investing would better drive the message;
• For individual investors, focus on the personal satisfaction of investing in people;
• Emphasize on return and easily understood financial metrics.

The paper concludes that the goal is to strengthen the value system and the core of that is asking:

• Why is it an important phenomenon?
• How can institutions work?
• What infrastructure is needed?
• What is the role of NGOs?
• What is the commercial case for microfinance?
• What is the future going to be?
• What is the role for people graduating from Harris, from Kellogg, from the GSB?