5th African Micro Finance Conference: Emerging Guidelines in Youth-Inclusive Financial Services

Making Cents International (MCI) will lead a panel presentation on the critical role that appropriate financial services can play in enabling young people to navigate the challenges and opportunities they face. Specifically, MCI will share: 1) the results of a global survey conducted in 2009 by Making Cents International; and 2) findings of leading NGOs and financial institutions which are pioneering youth-inclusive and youth-specific financial products. The outcomes of the survey findings and lessons learned have been synthesized into six ‘Emerging Guidelines’ for linking young people to financial services. Existing concerns are explained regarding defining and achieving impact, sustainability, scale and a favorable regulatory environment as it relates to youth-inclusive financial services. The panel presentation will conclude with practitioners’ visions for this nascent field by 2020.

The theme of the 2011 African Micro Finance Conference, hosted by the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institution (AEMFI) and Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), is "The Future of Inclusive Finance in Africa. According to ACCION International, inclusive finance is about all people who can access and use quality financial services at affordable price, in a convenient manner and with dignity for the clients. It means carefully considering the needs of different categories of clients, encourages participation of variety of actors in the sector. It is about democratizing the benefits of financial services and generating economic citizenship. Inclusive finance is an innovative approach and considers rural-urban dimension but also considers the disadvantaged groups of the society like disabled people. Inclusive finance has become a timely issue drawing the attention of practitioners but also other stakeholders. The G-20 has launched Financial Inclusion Expert Groups. Moreover, the UN is also interested in this issue and has appointed the Princess Maxima of the Netherlands as its Special Advocate. Papers are being published and conferences are held around the world on these issues. Africa needs to debate on this issue and clarify its position. With this conference, we want to bring the delivery of financial services to the excluded population of Africa to the forefront.

Early registration fee (prior to August 20, 2011): US$500
Late registration fee (after August 30, 2011): US$650 

For more inforomation contact: 
Tigist Tesfaye
Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institution (AEMFI)
P.O.Box 338 Code 1110, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251-011-5503829/5511567 Mobile 251-911-405241/0921785576
Email: aemfi@ethionet.et

To learn more, visit the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institution (AEMFI) Network at: http://www.aemfi-ethiopia.org/site/component/content/article/63-5th-african-micro-finance-conference.html