A mere 5% of needs is presently covered by an estimated 7000 specialized institutions, most of which are non-profit-making. The market is, however, becoming more professional and organized: countries are drawing up specific legislation, investment funds are being created, institutions have placed bonds in capital markets, and the securitization of loan portfolios is in the pipeline. Institutions such as Bancosol in Bolivia and K-Rep in Kenya boast better profitability rates than some of the world’s biggest and best banks. A movement initiated about 20 years ago by a handful of visionaries, micro-finance is becoming an industry, making its way into the mainstream financial system.

Micro-finance is undoubtedly one of the most stimulating phenomena of our time by its very capacity to reconcile apparently antagonistic notions:

• Globalisation and local dimension - potentially benefiting half of the world’s population, it sprouts from deep within local cultures and mentalities. Establishing a link of mutual interest between Wall Street and the suburbs of Johannesburg, Manila and Lima, it gives globalization local significance;
• Profit and development - presented by some as both the next emerging market and as one of the solutions to poverty, micro-finance appears able to reconcile economics with the social dimension, profit with development. It revolutionizes our traditional mindsets, turning profit into an engine for development.

• Institutions offering financial services to the working poor are now widespread in developing and developed economies. Leaders of the most prominent and innovative institutions will present their vision about the micro-finance market and submit business proposals.
• Governments set the rules of the game in the new micro-finance industry. Some countries are leading in the adoption of favourable legislation in this field. Senior government officials and Central Bankers will explain why and how they engaged in this process. They will discuss ways and means to accelerate the development of a micro-finance industry.
• As micro-finance emerges as a profitable market, new products and instruments are being designed by investment banks and asset management companies for investment in this class of assets. The most innovative actors in this field will present their achievements and future outlook, and state how governments can facilitate their work.

Challenges and prospects for the micro-finance industry

• How can lending to the poor be profitable: principles and basics of micro-finance
• How large is the micro-finance market? Who are the actors and what are the rules?

Results of on-going partnerships in the micro-finance market

• Joint ventures, franchises and other ways of becoming a micro-banker
• Linking capital markets to micro-finance: Investment funds, rating agencies and regulatory schemes
• Credit cards, electronic banking and other novel micro-finance tools
• Bringing borrowers and lenders together: the virtual micro-finance market.

New ways of thinking... and working

• Invest in micro-finance
• Contribute to the development of new infrastructures, products and services for micro-finance