By Dylan Higgins
As the Microfinance USA conference draws nearer and with an abundance of tantalizing sessions, I thought it may be helpful to map out an attendance strategy. Here are my Day 1 and Day 2 recommendations.
Day 1:
- 1:15 Session – Scaling Global Microfinance – While much progress has been made in scaling this field, we still have much work to do. I’m interested in learning what has worked and what hasn’t from these panelists.
- 2:45 Session – Leveraging Partnerships To Reach Millions – A nice follow-up to the 1:15 session. With more and more players entering this field, it is becoming imperative that we learn how to collaborate on our common goals.
- 4:15 Session – What is a Fair Price to Pay for Good Credit? – The recent New York Times article on interest rates for microfinance loans will undoubtedly make this one of the most popular sessions in the conference. If you want to come prepared, I would recommend reading Chapter 5 of Portfolios of the Poor – The Price of Money.
Day 2:
- 9:45 Session – Is Savings Even More Important Than Credit? As the CEO of SaveTogether, you can guess how I would answer this question and why I’m the most excited about this session.
- 11:00 Session – Policy Efforts to Promote Responsible and Appropriate Financial Products – Leveraging broad public support through public partnerships and policy advocacy is the most under-appreciated and untapped step to truly scaling this work.
- 2:30 Session – US Innovations: Serving the Unbanked – Since I’ll be missing the 11:00 session on innovations, I’m glad I’ll be able to attend this one to learn about organizations who like to push the envelope.
I look forward to meeting many of you next week! Feel free to contact me on twitter: @savetogether
Dylan Higgins is the Founder and CEO of SaveTogether.org and the Vice-Chair of SeaMo. SaveTogether operates a website that offers you an opportunity to participate in savings-focused microfinance and SeaMo is an organization dedicated to connecting the microfinance community through events, conferences, and an online platform.
