Posted by April Newman on June 19, 2009
Microloans to Thieves and
Other Revolutionary Acts That Demand Championing
The next Silicon Valley Microfinance Network (SVMN) meeting will be Wednesday, July 8, 2009 and will feature Sam Daley-Harris, Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign.
Sam Daley-Harris
On January 26, 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Jamii Bora Founder Ingrid Munro, and Microcredit Summit Campaign Director Sam Daley-Harris came together to make a momentous announcement: in 2007 the Microcredit Summit Campaign had surpassed its goal of reaching 100 million of the world’s poorest families. The largest global microfinance network, the Campaign had launched the goal at its inaugural meeting in 1997. Now the Campaign has been extended to 2015 and more bold goals set. The Campaign measures progress toward its goals in the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report and convenes regularly.
When polled about potential subjects for the next gathering, the Latin America – Caribbean Microcredit Summit to be held in Colombia in June 2009, microfinance leaders from Latin America overwhelmingly favored the topic “Breaking the Rules of Microfinance to End Poverty: Innovations from Around the World.” At this SVMN meeting, Director Sam Daley-Harris will discuss the Microcredit Summit Campaign’s recent achievements, next steps, and commitment to accelerating awareness and adoption of the most cutting edge innovations. His talk will include information on the creative practices of Kenyan microfinance institution Jamii Bora – from successfully making loans to beggars, thieves, and prostitutes to building a new town that allows slum dwellers to move into new homes and a better life.
To register, please click on the SVMN registration link here:
When: Wednesday, July 8, 2009
6:00-6:30pm: Registration, Dinner, & Networking
6:30-8:00pm: Speaker & Discussion
8:00-8:30pm: Networking
Where: The Enterprise Network (TEN)
2953 Bunker Hill Lane, 4th Floor
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(directions here)
Cost:
in advance: $20 regular attendee | $10 students & non-profits (w/ ID)
at the door: $30 regular attendee | $20 students & non-profits (w/ ID)
(includes dinner + drinks)
Please register early and save money. Online registration closes the morning of the event.
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Posted in meeting | Tagged: Microcredit Summit Campaign, Sam Daley-Harris, silicon valley microfinance network, svmn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by April Newman on June 19, 2009
Irvine Auditorium
Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)
499 Pierce Street
Monterey, CA 93940
Join the Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA) on June 26, 2009 at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) for a special conference on the recent trends emerging in the domestic and global Investment communities.
The Socially Responsible Investing — Here and Abroad conference will feature presentations from SRI and Micro-Finance experts who are leading the path to a more environmentally sound and sustainable future through new, dynamic investment vehicles that are altering the landscape of the traditional investment community while providing the grist for a sustainable future and a more prosperous world.
21st century socially responsible investment channels are now poised to offer global market-tested solutions for both small and large investors alike creating new investment methodologies that can help lead us out of our current, unstable investment environment.
This conference will provide information and spur discussions of how investors can realize a good return on their investment while experiencing the satisfaction of helping save the planet from environmental degradation and contributing to the indigenous poor and oppressed of our global community.
Posted in meeting | Tagged: MBITA, Monterey conference, Socially Responsible Investing - Here and Abroad | Leave a Comment »
Posted by April Newman on June 19, 2009
Breaking the Mold . . . and Maybe the Rules
– SVMN Speaker Event recap written by Cindy Law
Mads Kjaer (seated) and Matt Flannery speak to SVMN May 26, 2009
“The only way we can [eradicate poverty] is if we do things differently than what we have done historically . . . we need to think in a new way and create new patterns.” – MCY4 Founder Mads Kjaer
“Breaking Mold… and Maybe the Rules” featured MYC4 Founder Mads Kjaer and Kiva.org Co-Founder Matt Flannery, whose organizations provide two innovative and complementary peer-to-peer lending platforms. Kjaer and Flannery illuminated the broader regulatory environment shaping their work and its implications on the legal and financial structures of their respective organizations.
Kjaer introduced MYC4 as an 18-month old organization that has already amassed 15,000 investors from 90 countries to provide a $10 million loan portfolio. Kjaer discussed MYC4’s innovation in returning interest to users at an average rate of 13% and how the organization is building transparency in its online marketplace for loans, including disclosing transaction costs and country-specific tax rates on earned income. Kjaer provided a live demonstration of MYC4’s online platform and the application of the Dutch Auction, a bidding process around which the MYC4 process is based.
Flannery shared the story of Kiva’s origination and rapid progression from a vision for friends to a widely successful venture whose lender demand has historically outstripped the organization’s supply of loans to fund. Flannery discussed how due to legal obstacles, Kiva – which initially considered an interest-generating loan model comparable to that of MYC4 – pursued 501(c)(3) status and ultimately changed its thinking around its revenue model. Whereas MYC4 generates revenue from fees collected on each loan, Kiva’s revenue primarily stems from lender monetization and interest from cash flows.
From a risk perspective, financial and commercial risk lie with investors for both organizations; however, MYC4 and Kiva have developed distinct legal models and approaches to managing insolvency among borrowers and field partners. In Kiva’s case, Flannery and General Counsel Austin Choi explained the organization’s role as an intermediary on behalf of individual lenders. By maintaining a contract with each MFI partner, Kiva is able to reduce person-to-person transaction costs for lenders. In contrast, MYC4’s contracts are held by individual investors who hold the legal rights and responsibilities to each loan.
SVMN Board Member Sean Foote moderated the panel and Q&A session.
MYC4 Co-founder & CEO Mads Kjaer speaks to SVMN at O'Melveny & Myers office in San Francisco, CA.
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Posted by April Newman on May 27, 2009
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Get ready for the next generation in Microfinance events! Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and IQPC are proud to present Microfinance 2.0: Innovative Solutions to Thrive in the Downturn. This unique event will help you navigate the economic crisis by understanding the new online community, analyzing outside financial forces and learning best practices from fast growing companies.
Register and take $300 off the standard conference price! (Pay $699 instead of $999!) This is an exclusive offer to SVMN contacts only!
Download the UPDATED brochure to view all the speakers and session information. We have added a number of exciting new speakers in the past few weeks!
Register with a 30% discount off the standard price. Use the following code: SVMN DISCOUNT
Featured Speakers Include:
- Vikram Akula, Founder, SKS Microfinance **TIME Magazine’s Top 100 People of the Year, 2006**
- Bhakti Mirchandani, Associate Vice President, Unitus Capital
- Premal Shah, President, Kiva
- Adam Nash, Sr. Director, Product and User Experience, Linked In
- Sean Foote, Board Member, Silicon Valley Microfinance Network
- Tracey Turner, Founder, Microplace (An EBAY Company)
- Joan Trant, Executive Director, International Association of Microfinance Investors
- Richard Weingarten, Managing Director, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative
- Raul Pomares, Vice President, Guggenheim Partners
- Monica L Brand, VP and Program Manager, ACCION International
We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco this summer!
The Microfinance 2.0 Team
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Posted in meeting | Tagged: IQPC, Microfinance 2.0, microfinance conference, silicon valley microfinance network, svmn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by April Newman on May 12, 2009
Challenging convention and regulation while creating new models in an unprecedented market
The next Silicon Valley Microfinance Network (SVMN) meeting will be Tuesday, May 26, 2009 and will feature Mads Kjaer of MYC4 and Matt Flannery of Kiva.
Microfinance has been growing steadily over the last 30 years, most quickly in the last 10. Even the definition of “microfinance” has expanded. Different types of microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been created, and a variety of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) have been formed. Both the universes of institutional and individual investors/donors have grown. One development that is increasing the number of microfinance investors and working to reach more microborrowers is peer-to-peer (P2P) microlending platforms.
MYC4, based in Copenhagen, and Kiva, based in San Francisco, are two of the first online marketplaces that connect individual investors with individual entrepreneurs who need capital. MYC4 lets individuals bid an amount and an interest rate to fund a portion of a microloan. Kiva allows individuals to lend money at 0% interest in $25 increments to microentrepreneurs. Both companies use the internet to connect investors & lenders with entrepreneurs and, in doing so, are helping to bring new scale to both sides of the microfinance equation. As Kiva and MYC4 have forged new territory in the fields of microfinance and SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) development, investment, and philanthropy, they have faced regulatory hurdles and continue to raise new questions. With new business models, these two companies are forcing regulators, banks, and MFIs to expand their thinking . . . and maybe their rules. When a practice is unprecedented, how do we know if it is legal? How should foreign exchange and default risk be handled? What value can P2P platforms provide borrowers in addition to loans? MYC4 Co-Founder and CEO Mads Kjaer and Kiva Co-Founder and CEO Matt Flannery will discuss challenges they have faced and issues they are addressing as each of their companies continues to develop their own innovative financing model.
To register, please click on the SVMN registration link here:
When: Tuesday, May 26, 2009
6:00-6:30pm: Registration, Dinner, & Networking
6:30-8:00pm: Speakers & Discussion
8:00-8:30pm: Networking
Where: O’Melveny & Myers offices in San Francisco
Two Embarcadero Center, 28th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
(directions here)
Cost:
in advance: $20 regular attendee | $10 students & non-profits (w/ ID)
at the door: $30 regular attendee | $20 students & non-profits (w/ ID)
(includes dinner + drinks)
Speaker Bios:
Mads Kjaer
Mads Kjær is Co-Founder and CEO of MYC4, a web-based marketplace for African entrepreneurs to find funding to grow their micro- and small businesses, and for investors globally to invest in them. The vision of MYC4 is to end poverty through business by ensuring that everyone has the same access to capital and knowledge. MYC4 publicly launched the marketplace in October 2008, and today 4,000 entrepreneurs in 7 African countries have received loans for 8 million Euro. Mads is the former CEO and now Chairman of Kjaer Group and has 25 years of professional experience with the African continent. Mads has expatriated to Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa, and provides MYC4 substantial insight into African business. Mads Kjær is also the Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Denmark.
Matt Flannery
Matt Flannery is the Co-founder and CEO of Kiva, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. Matt began developing Kiva in late 2004 as a side-project with while working as a computer programmer at TiVo, Inc. In December 2005 Matt left his job to devote himself to Kiva full-time. As CEO, Matt has led Kiva’s growth from a pilot project to an established online service with partnerships across the globe and millions in dollars loaned to low income entrepreneurs. Matt is a Draper Richards Fellow and a featured blogger on the Skoll Foundation’s Social Edge website. He graduated with a BS in Symbolic Systems and a Masters in Analytical Philosophy from Stanford University.
Posted in meeting | Tagged: kiva, mads kjaer, matt flannery, matthew flannery, myc4, silicon valley microfinance network, svmn, web-based microfinance | Leave a Comment »
