Tbilisi to Host 9th Regional Microfinance Forum in October

The Annual Microfinance Forum of the Countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus will hold its 9th consecutive forum this year. The forum, organized by international knowledge-sharing and event-planning company Uniglobal, will be held in Tbilisi this October 3-4.

The “Uniglobal team is committed to continue with the tradition of bringing on board a network of experts and senior level speakers to share experiences and perspectives on current and future trends, ongoing changes in regulation and challenges in Microfinance,” said the organizers.

The forum brings together representatives of development organizations, banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), foundations, and investment managers. Discussions center around common themes of transparency, regulations on the microfinance industry, the evolution of the industry, social reporting standards, investment, risk and asset management, and innovation. Uniglobal explains that this year, the forum will present innovation “from a different angle,” and that “senior top-level speakers that will bring lessons learned in order to suggest and discuss applicable solutions.”

Several of the specific topics for the two-day forum have already been announced, including: ‘Investment outlook for 2019 in Caucasus and Central Asia,’ ‘Microfinance impact on sustainable development of entrepreneurship,’ ‘Local currency risks: successfully managing currency exposure your portfolio,’ ‘How to attract investors: what investors are looking for,’ ‘Exploring the opportunities of private investments,’ ‘Islamic Microfinance development: challenges and initiatives,’ ‘Financial education: ways to improve financial literacy,’ ‘Lifecycle of technology driven financial institution,’ ‘Alternative Financing: enhancing financial inclusion,’ ‘MFI digital transformation: knowledge management strategies and trainings,’ ‘Client focus: IT solutions to enhance customer service,’ ‘Performance management and data protection: new approaches to measure social performance of MFIs,’ and ‘Green economy: microfinance and poverty.’ There will also be two panel discussions, on the subjects: ‘Success factors of agro finance’ and ‘Operating in a digital world.’

The last time the Microfinance Forum of the Countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus was held in Tbilisi was in 2017. In 2018, the forum took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and in 2016 – Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. At the 2019 forum, speakers will include Davit Utiashvili, Head of the Division of Financial Risks and Macro Prudential Policy at the National Bank of Georgia, Armenuhi Mkrtchyan, Head of Consumer Protection and Financial Education at the Central Bank of Armenia, Elizabeth Davitashvili, the Principal Banker for the EBRD in Georgia, and the heads of several international microfinance banks working in the region.

Microfinance was introduced more than 35 years ago as a tool for fighting poverty and bypassing traditional financial institutions and infrastructure. It has become a tool for developing the financial sector in low-income countries. Once touted as a nearly miraculous solution to financing those in extreme poverty, spearheaded by organizations such as Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, microfinance is now increasingly criticized for trapping poor people in debt with high interest rates, predatory lending, and extreme collection tactics. Among concerns expressed by academics and international organizations over the high levels of debt in Georgia, policymakers introduced measures to regulate credit expansion. In the first round of credit regulations in May of 2018, the National Bank of Georgia mandated strict analyses of potential borrowers’ credit history and solvency, and restricted borrowing for certain low-income individuals. The regulations put pressure specifically on MFIs, limiting their client base. The largest MFIs in Georgia re-registered as commercial banks, and the number of MFIs dropped from 73 to 65 between May 2018 and January 2019.

The controversies surrounding microfinance and its role in the financial structures of developing countries is sure to be a prime topic of conversation at the 9th Annual Microfinance Forum of the Countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus this autumn.

By Samantha Guthrie

Image source: Uniglobal