Offsite Sessions provide e-MFP with opportunities throughout the year for more frequent touchpoints with our members and external stakeholders, all the while advancing e-MFP's standing as a leading financial inclusion network. Offsite Sessions include different types of events, including seminars, panel discussions, training sessions, working sessions, and others, all of which have the objective of raising awareness on e-MFP and its members' activities as well as visibly engaging on the sector's pioneering topics. They take place in e-MFP members' countries and are organised in collaboration with local actors such as e-MFP members, e-MFP Action Groups, national platforms or external partners and stakeholders. However during 2020 and 2021, due to public health restrictions, we moved our events online, which also gave us a great opportunity to reach out to an even wider audience.

Upcoming Offsite Sessions:

Stay tuned for details of our other sessions coming soon.

Past Events

Climate Change and WASH - Introduction for FSPs, 5 October 2023 online

The e-MFP WASH Action Group kicked off a series of webinars on Climate and WASH in October 2023. In this first webinar, Aqua for All led a session on financing climate-smart WASH which included Aqua for All's ambition to bridge the WASH financing gap, a background on the intersections between WASH, climate change inclusion, and most importantly set the stage for financing climate-smart WASH. The webinar, which featured Rachel Child, Climate Advisor, Leandra Roller, Climate Strategy Advisor and Loes Nijkamp, Programme Officer, included case studies and short engagements with the audience for further insights and feedback.

Watch the discussion

Launch of the Green Map - Addressing Climate Change Via an Open Resource for Green Inclusive Finance Projects & Practices, 28 September 2023, Luxembourg & Online

The launch event of the ‘Green Map’ - Addressing Climate Change Via an Open Resource for Green Inclusive Finance Projects & Practices – took place in the House of Microfinance in Luxembourg on 28 September. e-MFP’s Christoph Pausch warmly welcomed all participants and Paul Weber, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg gave the opening remarks. This was followed by an intro and background to the project by e-MFP’s Joana Afonso, coordinator of e-MFP’s Action Groups, before a deep dive into the topic and the project’s implementation by Isabelle Barres, Green Map Project Lead, and the two GICSF-AG co-Heads, Davide Forcella, JuST Institute and Natalia Realpe Carrillo,HEDERA. The session included also the testimonies of two Green Map contributors, BANFONDESA & United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

The ‘Green Map’ is a project developed by the e-MFP Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group (GICSFAG) and supported by the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This innovative resource is available to all green finance and inclusive finance actors. The project maps green inclusive finance projects and inclusive finance actors’ best practices in both adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and more broadly coping with environmental degradation and promoting sustainable environmental practices.

Watch the discussion

Financial Inclusion That Works for Women, March 2023 London & Online

The session was co-ordinated and moderated by e-MFP’s Sam Mendelson, who was joined in person by Noémie Renier, Head of Debt at Incofin IM, and Johanna Ryan, Direct of Impact at Vision Fund International. They were joined remotely by Sally Yacoub, a gender expert and consultant who supported the EMA team in 2022, and, via pre-recorded interview, Roshaneh Zafar, Managing Director of EMA2022 finalist Kashf Foundation from Pakistan. In this session, which attracted 65 attendees in person and over 120 online, the panellists covered the landscape of challenges and solutions, gender lens investing (including the ‘2X’ challenge), challenges from the field, and the role that other stakeholders, including raters and regulators, can play in ensuring the delivery of products and services that serve women clients, and building internal environments within FSPs conducive to women’s advancement and leadership.

Data Analytics for Financial Inclusion - Examples of Successful African FSPs, 17 May 2022

One of the main challenges FSPs face in serving the low income customer is understanding their needs. WSBI and FMT joined forces with e-MFP and ADA in a webinar to share insights on a study which focused on the use of external data sources that are regularly available across the African continent and are a rich, untapped source of information. Several leading FSPs are translating this external information into meaningful insights to support their product design and rollout, distribution strategies and more.

Watch the discussion

Scaling Informal Small Savings Groups in the World’s Poorest Communitie: the Next Financial Inclusion Revolution, 6 April 2022

What if the most transparent and community minded leaders of informal savings groups were provided with a financial nudge to train more groups? The organisers of these groups, with over half a billion members, are the experts. Watch the recording of our recent webinar - the panelists from Ghana, Yemen, Nepal, Mexico, India, and Korea - have a wealth of practical experience on how to achieve what we consider the revolutionary next step in financial inclusion.

The webinar moderated by e-MFP’s Daniel Rozas featured a great panel with a real wealth of experience, led by a savings group pioneer, Jeffrey Ashe, Director of Grassroots Finance Action who was joined by several of his former graduate students: Gervase Adams, Zaynab Ali Abdi, Achyut Hari Aryal, Poorvaja Sundar, and Jong-Hyon Shin.

Watch the discussion

How can FSPs ensure access to affordable health care? An e-MFP/FIF UK Webinar to discuss selected case studies and factors for success from the European Microfinance Award 2021, 28 February 2022

This webinar was a chance to learn more about this dynamic and burgeoning field of financial inclusion, and to hear from (and ask questions to) representatives of organisations that represent the three main approaches in e-MFP’s publication: preventing and treating illness; mitigating the risk of health shocks; and delivering health care to those who need it most. In 2021, the topic of the EMA was “Inclusive Finance & Health Care” – a subject which has never been more relevant than it is today. The Award, which opened in March and culminated with a High Jury to select a winner in November, invited applications from all over the world, presenting a diverse field of initiatives in insurance, credit, education, prevention and screening, among others.

Watch the discussion

Where do we go now? Launch of e-MFP's publication Financial Inclusion Compass 2021, 7 July 2021

e-MFP, in partnership with FinDev Gateway, explored findings from the Financial Inclusion Compass 2021 survey which this year looked beyond the impact of the pandemic and focused on issues related to current trends in the sector and future areas of focus. In addition, a special section highlighted the perceived impact of the pandemic, the changing roles of various stakeholders, and opportunities for "building back better". The webinar was led by Sam Mendelson, Financial Inclusion Specialist at e-MFP and lead author of the Compass series, joined by Antonique Koning, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP, Malkhaz Dzadzua, former CEO of JSC MFO Crystal in Georgia, and Noémie Renier, Head of Debt for Financial Institutions at Incofin Investment Management.

Watch the discussion

Weathering the Storm II: Using past crises to prepare for the post-covid recovery, 29 June 2021

Weathering the Storm II publication synthesizes the experiences and lessons from 16 institutions in 14 countries on four continents that faced a variety of crises over 15-year period. Its aim is to use these lessons to inform those facing future crises, including the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29th June, e-MFP and and the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) hosted a special seminar featuring the leaders of two of these institutions – Kashf Foundation, Pakistan, and Viator Microcredit Azerbaijan. They were joined by the lead author of the Weathering the Storm project, Daniel Rozas, as well as the author of the case study of Spandana, India, and expert on the 2010 Andhra Pradesh crisis. Together, they discussed how past crisis experience has helped them face the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the coming recovery.

Watch the discussion

The First Wealth is Health - Inclusive Finance and Health Care, 26 May 2021

“The First Wealth is Health“, an e-MFP webinar on “Inclusive Finance and Health Care” was hosted on 26th May. The aim of the webinar was to present the current health care landscape, including the needs of low-income households and the costs they must bear to access health care, the role of different financial products such as insurance as well as crucial non-financial support, the particular health care needs of women, and the roles that financial services providers can play to address this enormous challenge. We welcomed Bobbi Gray, Research Director at Grameen Foundation, to lead the webinar, and she was joined by Lisa Morgan, Technical Officer at ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility; Peter Wrede, a senior consultant with years of field experience, especially in health insurance; Barbara Magnoni, President of EA Consultants; and Shams Azad, Chief Operating Officer at BRAC Microfinance.

Watch the discussion here

Neither a Borrower Nor A Lender Be...
An e-MFP/FIF UK Webinar on ‘Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings’, 12 Jan 2021

The Financial Inclusion Forum UK (FIF UK) and the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) jointly hosted an open-to-all expert discussion on the state-of-the-art in savings behaviour and what different financial services providers are doing to innovate in the design and delivery of savings to low-income households and businesses.

Watch the discussion here

El Covid-19 Financial Inclusion Compass - conclusiones de la edición especial del Compass

Un webinar con Gabriela Erice (e-MFP) y Georgina Vazquez (OMTRIX) para presentar las conclusiones de la tercera encuesta de la e-MFP Compass, una edición especial que examina específicamente los desafíos que el Covid-19 plantea al sector de la inclusión financiera. 

Ver la charla aquí

Special edition Covid-19 Financial Inclusion Compass, 13th July 2020

A webinar with e-MFP's Sam Mendelson and CFI's Mayada El-Zoghbi presenting the preliminary and pre-publication findings from the third e-MFP 'Financial Inclusion Compass' survey - a special edition of the survey specifically looking at the challenges Covid-19 is posing to financial inclusion sector stakeholders, and what they prioritise going forward.

Watch the discussion here

Financial Inclusion Conversations: Learning from the past - a conversation between e-MFP's Sam Mendelson and Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation, Pakistan, 20th May 2020

In the first of the new 'Financial Inclusion Conversations' video series with institutions that have successfully weathered past crises, e-MFP's Sam Mendelson sat down with Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation, Pakistan to talk about the past, present and future.

Watch the discussion here

Are We Managing? An e-MFP/FIF UK Cross-Sector Panel Discussion on Covid Responses, webinar 13th May

How is the financial inclusion sector responding to the Covid-19 pandemic? The immense challenges right – to clients, institutions, investors, support providers, and policy-makers – are clear. But the question we'd like to ask is: are we managing? Just how much trouble are we in?

The joint European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) / Financial Inclusion Forum UK cross-sector panel held on 13 May with six outstanding speakers discussed how the financial inclusion sector is responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Panelists:
Rolando Victoria, founding Executive Director of Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Inc. (ASKI) in the Philippines and now the President and CEO of ASKI Group of Companies Inc.;
Johanna Ryan, Global Director of Impact at VisionFund International, and a FIF UK Board Director;
Babak Abbaszadeh, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Centre;
Fabian Kasi, Managing Director of Centenary Bank in Uganda;
Noémie Renier, Head of Debt for Financial Institutions at Incofin;
Timothy Ogden, Managing Director of the Financial Access Initiative – and author of the Weekly faiV;
Moderated by Sam Mendelson, Financial Inclusion Specialist European Microfinance Platform and a FIF UK Board Director.

Watch the discussion here

Where do we go from here? Trends, Focus Areas and Forecasts from the Financial Inclusion Compass 2019, 21st January in Brussels

e-MFP's Sam Mendelson, author of the Financial Inclusion Compass 2019, presented the trends, future areas of focus, challenges and opportunities for inclusive finance from the second e-MFP survey of financial inclusion trends in an event jointly held with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) - the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) and e-MFP.

The Financial Inclusion Compass, 11th June 2019 in Luxembourg

An interactive workshop on e-MFP's Survey of Financial Inclusion Trends, organised with the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu) in which author e-MFP's Sam Mendelson presented the key findings and discussed the implications for the sector and the future steps of the survey.

Financial Inclusion through Technology, 23rd May 2019 in London

A joint event with the Financial Inclusion Forum UK (FiF) and hosted by Allen & Overy, which presented the background to the 2018 European Microfinance Award on 'Financial Inclusion through Technology' and the emerging best practice in this area including through the finalists and semi-finalists' programs profiled in the European Dialogue publication Digital Pathways in Financial Inclusion. Speakers were: Audrey Joubert, Advans International; Graham A.N. Wright, MSC; Aurélie Wildt Dagneaux, PHB Development with moderation by Sam Mendelson, e-MFP/FiF. 

Read  our blog The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Technology: Launch of 'Digital Pathways in Financial Inclusion' in London

The State of Financial Inclusion: The Global Findex nine years, 29th October 2018 in Paris

With the publication of the 2017 Global Findex database, we now have 9 years' of trend data on financial inclusion. What have been the largest gains? What are the persistent gaps? Where should stakeholders working in financial inclusion focus their energies going forward? These were some of the questions examined during Dorothe Singer of the World Bank's presentation and the subsequent panel discussion with Matthew Soursourian from CGAP, Solène Morvant-Roux from University of Geneva and Claudia Belli from BNP Paribas on 29th October in the event jointly organised by e-MFP and BNP Paribas in Paris.

Microfinance for Housing, 9th May 2018 in London
A  joint event with the Financial Inclusion Forum UK (FiF) and hosted by Allen & Overy, the panel discussion presented the outcomes of the 2017 European Microfinance Award on Microfinance for Housing and the e-MFP publication European Dialogue n° 12: Building New Foundations in Housing Microfinance. Discussion revolved around the challenges and opportunities in the current housing microfinance landscape and also looked ahead to the medium-term prospects for the sector. Speakers were: Sandra Prieto, Habitat for Humanity International's Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter; Daniel Rozas, e-MFP; Trushna Patel, who joined the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, with moderation by Sam Mendelson, e-MFP/FiF.

Buyer Selection in Responsible Exits, 25th April 2018 in Utrecht, The Netherlands
An afternoon workshop session with microfinance investors was held in Utrecht on 25th April, to present the NpM/e-MFP Investor Action Group/FIEC research and the publication Caveat Venditor - Towards a Conceptual Framework for Buyer Selection in Responsible Microfinance Exits, authored by Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas, on buyer selection in responsible microfinance exits. The two authors led the workshop, which was attended by representatives of four social impact investors. After briefly presenting a summary of the research findings, then ran a 'simulation' exercise of an exit, with participants taking the roles of different potential buyers before rejoining to assess the candidates from the seller's perspective. The workshop received excellent feedback, and there are plans to conduct a more extensive exit simulation exercise as a dedicated session during European Microfinance Week 2018.

Training for investors on green inclusive finance, 29th September 2017 in Utrecht The Netherlands
A one day ‘Training for Investors on Green Inclusive Finance’ was held in Utrecht on 29th September, prepared and delivered by Enclude BV, organised by the e-MFP Microfinance & Environment Action Group and kindly hosted by NpM. The training introduced investors and donors to green inclusive finance: state of the art and lessons learnt. It covered how to assess environmental performance of financial institutions, what are the investment opportunities and challenges, and future perspectives.

With an interactive format it included case studies, guided discussions, group work, and presentations. An overview of the sector along with best international and local practices, and actual examples of green initiatives were presented.

See the training material

Access to Education – Why Finance Matters,11th September 2017 in Zurich
Hosted by Credit Suisse in Zurich and co-organised by e-MFP, SMP and Credit Suisse, this event addressed the factors that matter in applying microfinance to ensure adequate, affordable quality education and how to effectively achieve scale in this area of financial inclusion. The panel introduced the winner and one of the finalists of the 2016 European Microfinance Award which focused on Microfinance and Access to Education. It also explored the perspective of investors and technical assistance providers who are key in growing the sector responsibly. Speakers were Elizabeth West (Jacobs Foundation), Nathan Byrd (Opportunity International), Maria Teresa Zappia (Blue Orchard) and the moderator was Bernd Balkenhol, Swiss Microfinance Platform (SMP). The event was a great success with more than 100 participants.

The Role of MFIs in improving access to and quality of education: Perspectives on the 7th European Microfinance Award and the European Dialogue, 10th April 2017 in London
Hosted at Allen & Overy in London on April 10th 2017 and co-organized by the Financial Inclusion Forum UK and e-MFP, the topic was the role of MFIs in improving access to and quality of education. This event followed up on the European Microfinance Award 2016 topic and was an occasion to present the European Dialogue n° 11: Microfinance and Access to Education - Investing in Tomorrow. The speakers were Daniel Rozas, Sam Mendelson (Arc Finance), Kaspar Wansleben (Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund) and Nathan Byrd (Education Finance group at Opportunity International).

Read our blog: e-MFP and Financial Inclusion Forum Host London Panel Session to launch Investing in Tomorrow and Call for Applications for Housing Award

Presentation of the Microfinance Index of Market Outreach and Saturation (MIMOSA), 3rd April 2017 in Paris
For the first e-MFP Offsite Session, e-MFP collaborated with BNP Paribas to bring the MIMOSA Project team to Paris. The project co-founders, Emmanuelle Javoy and e-MFP's Daniel Rozas, shared their research on market saturation and overindebtedness, including a review of several countries covered by the MIMOSA Project. The event was well-attended by a cross-section of Paris-based institutions working in microfinance, including Oxus, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation, Advans, Cerise, and of course staff from BNP Paribas who hosted the event. The forum featured a number of questions and critiques of the MIMOSA market saturation model.

Other events are planned for the coming months and we'll update regularly.