Join for this free 9 week simulcast Microfinance, Impact Investing and Gender brought to you by Stanford University. You may participate from the comfort of your home on Thursday evenings. The course brings together advice and best practices from successful practitioners and institutions around the world as well as new technology startups targeting poverty alleviation.
The course is designed for students seeking to learn more about microfinance and impact investing. It is intended for students that are not yet practitioners in microfinance or impact investing, though students with prior experience will find this overview useful.
Professor Sean Foote will teach the course along with guest lecturers from the leaders of organizations like Kiva, OPIC, Not For Sale, and FairTrade, USA.
The 6th Annual San Diego Microfinance Summit will be held Tuesday, April 8th at the University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice. Come learn new microfinance concepts, converse with like minded people, and participate in supporting local microfinance clients.
The 2014 San Diego Microfinance Summit will bring together leading microfinance practitioners, social entrepreneurs, students and members of the general public to explore the expanding horizons of the microfinance industry. Larry Reed, the Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, will be the keynote speaker. The event will also highlight speakers from innovative organizations such as Kiva, GiveDirectly,Edify and Puddle. Panels and presentations throughout the day will center on discussions about new ways to expand the reach and impact of microfinance by bringing vital financing to under-served markets. At the end of the day we will host a tremendous networking mixer with a million dollar view.
Pre-Summit Networking Mixer Ritual Tavern (a microfinance-funded establishment)
Monday, April 7th; 6:00 - 8:00pm
Cost: $12, including appetizers and one drink www.ritualtavern.com
San Diego Microfinance Summit
University of San Diego
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice
Tuesday, April 8th; 9:00am - 5:00pm
Summit Tickets*: General: $50.00 Student: $25.00 (for current students with a valid student identification)
*Ticket price includes breakfast, lunch and reception, as well as a free voucher worth $10 to be applied to any purchase in the Artisan Client Marketplace. You’re encouraged to shop and support the vendors (no cash back value).
8:15 – 9:00 am Registration, Breakfast & Networking
9:00 – 9:30 am Welcome - USD Director Stephen Conroy, Dean Paula Cordeiro
9:30 –10:15 am Keynote Speaker - Larry Reed
10:15 – 10:25 am Break
10:25 – 11:30 am Plenary Session - Innovations In Finance Jonny Price, Kiva; Jean Claude Rodriguez, Puddle; Paul Niehaus, GiveDirectly; Moderator: Craig McIntosh (UCSD)
11:30 – 11:45 am Microfinance CLIENT Success Story: Angela Maweu
11:45 –1:00 pm Lunch and Marketplace
1:00 – 2:00 pm Breakout Sessions- Concurrent
1) The Changing Horizon of Local Micro Lending: Impact, Innovation and Advocacy
2) Emerging Models: Returning to Traditional Ways of Saving and Sharing
2:10 – 3:10 pm Plenary Session: Education & Microfinance Larry Reed, Microcredit Summit Campaign; Chris Crane, Edify; Moderator: Paula Cordeiro, USD
3:10 – 4:30 pm Networking Reception
Keynote Speaker - Larry Reed is the director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign. He has worked for more than 25 years in designing, supporting and leading activities and organizations that empower poor people to transform their lives and their communities. For most of that time Larry worked with Opportunity International, including five years as their Africa regional director and eight years as the first CEO of the Opportunity International Network. During his time with Opportunity, Larry helped to implement a strategy for developing full-service banks that served the very poor while mobilizing hundreds of millions of dollars in savings deposits and investments. Under his leadership, Opportunity developed the first micro-insurance brokerage, which now serves hundreds of millions of people around the world. Larry has taught at the Boulder Institute of Microfinance for 15 years, served as the chair of the SEEP Network, and consulted with industry-wide initiatives like the Smart Campaign for Client Protection and MicroFinance Transparency. Larry authored the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and has contributed to several books on finance and the poor including The New World of Microfinance (Rhyne, Otero, et. al., 1996), Serving with the Poor in Africa (Yamamori, Myers, Bediako and Reed, 1996), Globalization and the Kingdom of God (Goudzwaard, 2001), and More Pathways Out of Poverty (Harris et. al., 2006). He is a graduate of Wheaton College and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Moderators University of San Diego - Paula Cordeiro grew up in New England and is a former teacher, principal and school head in international, bilingual schools in Venezuela and Spain. She holds a Master’s degree in TESOL from Rhode Island College and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Houston. Paula is currently a professor and dean of the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) at the University of San Diego. In 2007 Paula was appointed to the board of The James Irvine Foundation in San Francisco and also serves on the boards of San Diego Grantmakers, the international micro-lender Edify, and the Boston-based nonprofit Community Technical Assistance Center (CTAC). She is the author of three books and in 2012 completed, with co-author Bill Cunningham, the 5th edition of her textbook Educational Leadership: A Bridge to Improved Practice. Her research interests are in school leadership and education in developing nations.
UC San Diego - Craig McIntosh is a Professor of Economics at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, UC San Diego. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in agriculture and resource economics. He is a development economist whose work focuses on program evaluation. His main research interest is the design of institutions, which promote the provision of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs. He has conducted field evaluations of innovative anti-poverty policies in Mexico, Guatemala, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. He is currently working on research projects investigating how to boost savings among the poor, on whether schooling can be used as a tool to fight HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, and on mechanisms to improve the long-term viability of Fair Trade markets.
Morning Plenary Session
Kiva - Jonny Price first came to Kiva in 2009 as a volunteer on a 5-month externship from his management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. After 6 years at Oliver Wyman, first in London and then in San Francisco, he joined Kiva full-time in September 2011, to lead the Kiva Zip pilot project. Jonny is married to Ali, who he met at Kiva, and occasionally you may glimpse them cycling their tandem to work. He graduated with a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.
GiveDirectly - Paul Niehaus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at UC San Diego as well as a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Junior Affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), an Affiliate of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and an Affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA). His research deals with program implementation in developing countries and with learning. He is also co-founder and president of the nonprofit GiveDirectly. In 2013 Foreign Policy named him one of its leading 100 “Global Thinkers.”
Puddle - Jean Claude Rodriguez is a co-founder of Puddle with Matt Flannery, CEO of Kiva. Puddle is an online platform that gives individuals instant access to a line of credit and a platform where money is lent and borrowed freely among members. Before moving to San Francisco, he implemented Puddle offline in more than 10 countries. He is an Ashoka fellow and was selected Best Creative Entrepreneur of the World in 2008. He holds a Ph.D. in Microfinance.
Afternoon Session (1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
The Changing Horizon of Local Micro Lending: Impact, Innovation and Advocacy (Conference Room C)
Practitioners in the evolving field of micro lending are continually challenged to develop innovative solutions to address the need for access to capital and business education. The nature of these solutions can vary but the goal is always the same: creating lasting impact for underserved entrepreneurs. In this session, microfinance practitioners will discuss how their micro lending programs have evolved to meet the needs of the local market in four tangible ways including: policy advocacy for systemic changes to benefit small businesses, expansion of traditional underwriting processes to include character and commitment to business training, impact analysis via measurements of household and business income, and collaborative approaches to delivering business assistance to entrepreneurs.
Panelists Valery Belloso, ACCION San Diego, Business Development Officer Kaitlan Hammock, Microenterprise Program Manager, International Rescue Committee, Susan Lamping, Vice President of Community Lending, CDC Small Business Finance Sandra Martinez, Program Manager, Foundation for Women
Emerging models: Returning to traditional Ways of Saving and Sharing (Conference Room D)
In recent years new models designed around savings are appearing in the world of micro-finance. In a way this is a return to traditional models used by villages. Many communities are hesitant to enter into debt outside of their community relationships or do not have a third party linking them to sources of capital. Some communities, due to cultural traditions, do not believe in debt as a development vehicle. In this panel discussion we will explore the history of this movement and hear from organizations exploring these new methodologies.
Panelists Jean Fort, Vice President of Programs and Partnerships, Women’s Empowerment Anna Lu, Founder, EPTEAM Network @ UCSD; San Diego Microfinance Puddle Neils Lund, Executive Director, Microloans for Mothers Jean Claude Rodriguez, Co-Founder, Puddle
Panel Moderator: Elisa Sabatini, Executive Director, Via International
Afternoon Plenary Session (2:10 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.)
Edify- Chris Crane is President & CEO of Edify, a humanitarian organization he founded in September 2009 to make loans to Christian schools educating impoverished children in Africa and Latin America. Chris Crane served from 2002-2009 as President & CEO of Opportunity International Inc., the world’s largest faith-based microfinance organization. During Chris’ tenure, Opportunity’s revenues grew at a compounded annual rate of 30%. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Finance from Boston College. He studied economics, art appreciation and music appreciation for two years at the University of Vienna, Austria. In 1999 he was awarded the Ernst & Young/USA Today Entrepreneur of the Year Award in San Diego and in 2009 the Bob Buford Half/Time Achievement Award. He was a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) from 1990 to 2002. He has been married to Jane for 30 years, and they have one son, Andy.
Microcredit Summit Campaign - Larry Reed (see Biography above)
To learn more about previous San Diego Microfinance Summits you can Click Here.
If you are not familiar with The San Diego Microfinance Alliance (SDMFA) - This 20 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY paints a picture of microfinance in San Diego and how The SDMFA is collaborating to create greater opportunities for entrepreneurs, students and those interested in engaging in microfinance.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013, 7:00 – 9:00 pm; Free Film Screening and Session with filmmakers as part of the Changemaker FEST at USD
The University of San Diego and the San Diego Microfinance Alliance cordially invite you to a screening of “Living on One Dollar,” followed by a dialogue with documentary filmmakers Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple.
Where: Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theater
Address: 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110 (directions) Cost: Free - No registration required.
MICROFINANCE IS A SUTAINABLE POVERTY ALLEVIATION STRATEGY
How would you survive with only one dollar a day? How would you manage such a small amount of money to not only pay for food, but also, for school, for your home or for an emergency? While living in Guatemala, the filmmakers asked these questions everyday. How access to savings accounts and small loans can empower a woman to bring herself and her family out of poverty. Learn how microfinance is helping to provide financial services to the poor.
For more information, please go to the film website.
PUSH THE LIMITS. MAKE IMPACT.
Beyond creating awareness, we provide opportunities for our generation to fight poverty effectively and build the skills necessary to innovate new solutions.
Sponsored by the USD Changemaker Hub, the Center for Community Service Learning, the Center for Peace and Commerce, and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice.
Also supporting this event: The San Diego Microfinance Alliance, EPTEAM Network @ UCSD (Eliminate Poverty through Education and Microfinance)
The University of San Diego’s Ahlers Center for International Business and the Center for Peace and Commerce, along with the Institute for Economics and Peace, would like to invite you to the 2013 Leadership for Peace and Prosperity Conference, to be held at the University of San Diego on October 3-5, 2013. On Friday morning, October 4, 2013, the 5th Annual Summit will feature business leaders and innovative thinkers who will share their insight and experience on ways that business and trade can promote sustainable peace and prosperity. The purpose is to influence practice by furthering ongoing discussions on how best to engage business, government and other economic organizations for greater world peace and prosperity.
The International Rescue Committee is seeking to hire a Microenterprise Business Counselor to work in their office located in San Diego, CA.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC Microenterprise Program supports refugees to start and expand their own businesses by providing intensive technical assistance and access to capital. The IRC has aided in the start of over 170 businesses and helped over 85 businesses to expand.
Follow these links to learn more about Microenterprise Program Manager position and how to apply:
Accion San Diego is seeking to hire a Customer Service Representative to work in their office located in San Diego, CA.
About Accion San Diego
The mission of Accion San Diego as a non-profit organization is to create economic opportunity for primarily low to moderate income start-up and existing entrepreneurs who lack access to traditional credit. Through business loans ranging from $300 to $50,000 and support services, Accion San Diego strengthens the roots of emerging entrepreneurs and helps them to thrive in their communities, creating social and economic change. Visit www.accionsandiego.org for more information.
Job Overview
The CSR’s main objective is to support the lending department and process loan applications in the pipeline, ensuring accuracy, efficiency and the highest level of customer service to potential clients. The CSR serves as part of a client management team in servicing potential and existing clients. The CSR will assist in processing the application from beginning to end and will follow up with potential clients who may need additional assistance compiling documents or answering questions about the loan application process with Accion.
Follow these links to learn more about the position and how to apply:
The International Rescue Committee is seeking to hire a Microenterprise Loan Officer to work in their office located in San Diego, CA.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC Microenterprise Program supports refugees to start and expand their own businesses by providing intensive technical assistance and access to capital. The IRC has aided in the start of over 170 businesses and 85 expansions.
Follow these links to learn more about the Microenterprise Program Manager position and how to apply:
The International Rescue Committee is seeking to hire a Microenterprise Business Counselor to work in their office located in San Diego, CA.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC Microenterprise Program supports refugees to start and expand their own businesses by providing intensive technical assistance and access to capital. The IRC has aided in the start of over 170 businesses and 85 expansions.
Follow these links to learn more about Microenterprise Program Manager position and how to apply:
The Micro Enterprise Global Fellowship is a yearlong fellowship for individuals interested in microfinance and microenterprise in the developing world. The fellowship is ideal for those with educational or practical background in microfinance, microenterprise, agriculture, fundraising and/or international development. However, all interested individuals with a college degree are encouraged to apply. Applicants should be flexible self-starters who possess an enthusiasm for development work.
Fellowship Description
Village HopeCore International is a nonprofit organization registered in Kenya and the United States with a mission to eradicate poverty and improve the health and living conditions of the Wameru people of Chogoria, Kenya. In 2000, HopeCore began a unique and innovative poverty eradication project that combines a Grameen-style micro enterprise village bank with an adult education program and a village-level health care program. To date, HopeCore has funded over 800 individuals.
The Micro Enterprise Program combines small loans with business and financial literacy training. Loan clients also receive health training and medical services. HopeCore’s training program sets the nonprofit apart from other microfinancing organizations by recognizing that money alone does not lift people out of poverty. Training and education empower people to make informed decisions about their finances and health. This unique combination of micro loans, business and health trainings has helped HopeCore achieve a 99% loan repayment rate. HopeCore loan clients experience an increase in income and decrease in illness.
The Micro Enterprise Global Fellow is a key member of the Micro Enterprise Team. (S)he works closely with the rest of the team to improve and streamline both the micro lending and training programs. Specific duties include data collection and analysis, managing the HopeCore website and social media, and grant-writing. The Micro Enterprise Fellow also manages that greenhouse lending program. (will link this to the blog entry) These duties enable the fellow to travel to surrounding villages to visit loan clients at their homes and businesses.
The Micro Enterprise Global Fellowship started in 2012. There has been one Micro Enterprise Global Fellow.
Compensation and Lodging
VHI provides a $500 monthly stipend to the fellow. The stipend is designed to cover all lodging and living expenses in Chogoria as well as travel expenses and health insurance expenses. HopeCore will arrange for a safe and secure apartment for the fellow in our local hospital’s compound. The apartment is furnished with a full bathroom, cooking facilities and a refrigerator. Rent is approximately $50 each month and is paid out of the $500 monthly stipend. Food costs in the village should run about $60 per month. It is required that, for the fellow’s own protection, each fellow must have health insurance. The fellow will be responsible for transportation costs to and from Kenya. Roundtrip airfare from the west coast of the US to Nairobi is around $2000, less expensive from the east coast. The fellow will receive four weeks of vacation during the fellowship. The $500 per month stipend should cover all of the fellow’s transportation expenses getting to Kenya, all of the living expenses while in Chogoria and most if not all the cost of health insurance while in Kenya. The stipend is designed to allow a fellow to spend a year in Kenya without having to incur additional loans.
Application and Selection Process
The application and selection process involves three stages. In the first stage, applicants e-mail a one page cover letter, stating the reasons for their interest in our fellowship, and a CV to [email protected]. In the second stage, competitive applicants will be interviewed over the phone. Following the phone interviews, a group of finalists will be selected. In the third stage, the finalists will have an in-person interview (or phone interview if geography prohibits an in-person interview). References will be obtained at this time. All finalists will be able to have a phone conversation with the current Micro Enterprise Fellow.
Join for this free 9 week simulcast Microfinance, Impact Investing and Gender brought to you by Stanford University. You may participate from the comfort of your home on Thursday evenings. The course brings together advice and best practices from successful practitioners and institutions around the world as well as new technology startups targeting poverty alleviation.
