In this webinar we will discuss some of the key questions and issues facing the field of microfinance - and offer some predictions on where we see the field heading. Key issues include: the role of government, the impact of private investors, new international players, private aid, regulation and commercialization. Participants will gain insights into policy and regulatory environments coming down the road (the implications of the India crisis), transparency guidelines, the advantages and disadvantages of a more competitive environment for microfinance and impact of new financial structures designed to increase the flow of funds to MFIs.

Webinar Presenter Bio:

Michael Swack,
Faculty Director, Center on Social Innovation and Finance

Michael Swack is a professor at the University of New Hampshire, where he has appointments at the Carsey Institute and at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. At Carsey, he is working on building scale in the nonprofit community development sector, innovations in community development finance, microfinance, and new models of social enterprise. He manages two ongoing projects: the Financial Innovations Roundtable (in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) and the Stonyfield Farm Entrepreneurship Institute (in collaboration with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt). He has over twenty-five years of experience in the fields of economic development, finance, and development banking.