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In this Issue

  1. WWB and Inter-American Development Bank Co-Host Conference in Argentina for Banks Entering the Microfinance Market
  2. WWB and Morgan Stanley Host WWB's Sixth Annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference
  3. WWB Network Member Shakti Foundation Joins with Citi Foundation to Launch Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards in Bangladesh
  4. WWB'S Ugandan Network Member Unveils New Brand as "Finance Trust"
  5. WWB in the News
  6. WWB Publications: New and Forthcoming
  7. Upcoming & Recent Speaking Events of President Iskenderian

WWB and Morgan Stanley Host WWB's Sixth Annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference

On February 21st and 22nd, WWB and Morgan Stanley joined together to host WWB's sixth annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference. The two-day conference, which took place at Morgan Stanley's Westchester Campus in Purchase, New York, brought together nearly 300 microfinance institution (MFI) managers, Morgan Stanley employees and socially responsible investors to discuss capital markets transactions and financing strategies. The conference also examined MFI valuation methodologies, and featured an MFI case study competition.

The overall mood of the conference was one of optimism for continued MFI penetration into both local and international capital markets, as global investors increasingly view microfinance as an investment with attractive returns, both financial and social. The conference gave microfinance practitioners the opportunity to explore ways of accessing the global and local capital markets through financial structures conducive to the high growth needs of MFIs, and emphasized the vital role of capital structure optimization in supporting rapid growth. Another recurring theme was the importance of selecting a suitable equity investor in order to protect an MFI's social mission during the transformation process. Among the conference participants were 44 MFI managers, including nine of the ten WWB network members recently named to Forbes magazine's list of the world's top 50 MFIs.

"The evolution of microfinance from a community-centered, non-profit activity based primarily on charitable impulses to an asset class that global investors are vying to get into is indeed an extraordinary phenomenon," said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking. "As we celebrate the potential that these changes bring for the future of microfinance, we must also be mindful of not losing sight of our social mission of empowering women and alleviating poverty. Morgan Stanley is playing a vital role in educating the financial industry and facilitating the capital markets needs of MFI's."

For further information on the conference, please visit the WWB website.