FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Weeklong Program to Address the Leadership Skills of Microfinance Managers

PHILADELPHIA, March 1, 2010 – The Women’s World Banking (WWB) Center for Microfinance Leadership announces its inaugural Advanced Leadership Workshop, co-designed with and hosted at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education, from March 1 to 5. The five day program will bring together 22 senior leaders and managers in microfinance from 16 institutions in 15 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America to enhance their knowledge, skills, and leadership capabilities.

This is the first Center workshop to be held in the United States since it was created last year to design and deliver executive education programs focused on cultivating principled, visionary leaders in microfinance. “The Center for Microfinance Leadership is at the forefront of a dynamic microfinance industry that demands talented managers who can tackle complex issues in challenging times,” said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking. “The Advanced Leadership Workshop is designed to help microfinance institutions and managers maximize their effectiveness which will in turn help to improve the financial wellbeing of millions of people around the world.”

WWB established the global Center for Microfinance Leadership in response to critical changes in microfinance—including increased commercialization, decreased presence of women staff at all levels of microfinance institutions and rapid growth—that demand skilled, trained leaders and managers. A series of sessions for the participants are designed to help them understand global trends and their impact on the microfinance institutions they lead. The sessions, on building a learning community, dealing with the extraordinary and creating value in negotiations, among other topics, will help these microfinance leaders communicate their mission, their social and financial impact and build dynamic and talented teams within their organizations. WWB’s partner in this course is The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education, recognized as an international leader in executive education and leadership development.

Through a unique combination of action learning and the latest approaches to strategy and leadership this program will help participants to build a network of support that will grow themselves, their institution and the microfinance industry. "This course comes at a critical time for the microfinance industry, when microfinance leaders face unprecedented pressures. There are challenges stemming from the formalization of microfinance and increased competition in the sector; the introduction of significant new products such as savings; and management pressures stemming from the global financial crisis." The Advanced Leadership Workshop is the latest in a series organized by the Center. Additional leadership programs in 2010 will include a one-on-one coaching for a small cadre of leaders with the greatest potential to effect change, and a workshop designed to enhance management skills in microfinance.

About Women’s World Banking (WWB)

WWB is a leading global network of 40 microfinance providers and banks, working in 28 countries to bring financial products and services to low-income entrepreneurs, especially women. The network is supported by an international team of experts based in New York who deliver expertise in product design and distribution, access to capital markets, and customer care and insight. The network serves over 20 million micro-entrepreneurs. For more information on WWB, please visit its website at www.womensworldbanking.org.

About Executive Education at the Wharton School

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. Informed by in-depth, groundbreaking academic research and extensive industry experience, Wharton Executive Education programs offer a supportive and challenging context where participants gain the skills necessary for their next level of executive development. Participants come to Wharton from a diverse range of industries and engage with faculty who are the most cited, most published faculty of all top-tier business schools. With a profound influence upon global business, Wharton faculty are the sought-after, trusted advisors of corporations and governments worldwide. ###