February 2010
Dear WWB Supporters and Friends,

In January, we announced that Women’s World Banking was the recipient of an $8.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to dramatically increase access to formal savings products for nearly seven million low-income people in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The Gates Foundation announcement of its overall grant making on savings initiatives garnered a lot of media attention, with coverage in ABC News and the Philanthropy Journal. Read the the coverage that included WWB.

We are busy gearing up for our 8th annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference (CMC), to be held on March 23 and 24 in New York City. This year’s conference, aptly titled “Overcoming Challenges and Creating Opportunities” will bring together leading professionals from the mainstream financial sector and the microfinance industry to discuss a range of topics including: Regional updates on the effects of the financial crisis with a prognosis for 2010; questions on what the experiences of 2009 have taught us about the responsibilities of lenders and MFIs in setting appropriate lending standards; reflections on return expectations in microfinance; unique insights on identifying the next generation of rising microfinance institutions (MFIs); and an assessment of the role of microfinance as a socially responsible investment.

The conference will also host the annual WWB MFI competition, where MFI senior managers are supported by JPMorgan volunteers in tackling a specific industry challenge. Teams present their proposed solution to a panel of judges during the conference, providing the audience the opportunity to meet MFI managers and gain insights from their work with the volunteers. Judging from last year’s success, we have high expectations that this year will see a lot of exciting discussions and innovative solutions. For more information on the conference, or to register, please click here.

During the same week as the CMC, we will host the WWB 2010 Global Dinner on Thursday, March 25 at Gotham Hall in New York City. I am always inspired when we bring together WWB supporters with the leaders of our global network of 40 microfinance institutions. During the dinner we will honor Citi for its long-standing support of the microfinance sector in general and WWB in particular. It is an event not to be missed. For ticket information and to learn more about the dinner, please click here.

We are off to a running start here at WWB in 2010, which would not have been possible without our supporters. Thank you for your continued commitment to empowering low-income women around the world through Women’s World Banking.

Warm Regards,
Mary Ellen Iskenderian