Women's World Banking Conference

Last week I attended the Women’s World Banking conference sponsored in part by J.P.Morgan. The two-day event consisted of a number of panel presentations as well case study competitions among dozens of microfinance institutions from around the world.  One of the first presentations at the conference discussed how the current fiscal crisis is affecting microfinance institutions globally.  Before this conference, I had not thought much about it, but the impact on these institutions is tremendous on two accounts.  First, the issue of liquidity continues to be a problem as potential investors are retrenching, especially from emerging markets.  On the human side of the

MFI

issue, people around the globe are experiencing incredible personal hardships, which are making it difficult for them to fulfill repayment obligations.  Part of the reason this is happening is because the overall demand for goods (including those cultivated or produced by entrepreneurs) is shrinking and when sales are occurring, they are not commanding high prices.  This has forced families to dip into whatever savings they may have, while at the same time, many are still defaulting on loan payments. The ripple effect from both ends (limited capital and increasing loan defaults) is having a very negative on this sector in certain corners of the world.  It is interesting to note that the impact on the sector varies depending on 1) the region (some areas are fairing much worse than others in terms of default rates and infrastructure challenges; and 2) how the institution in funded (some institutions accept deposits, while others rely on debt, equity investments or private grants to make loans—all of which can impact the overall risk and liquidity of an organization).  These are just a few tidbits from the conference, but overall it was a fascinating event because it provided excellent insight from the provider, investor and consumer perspective.

Comments

[Emily Goldman]

This sounds like quite an interesting event. During the Commission on the Status of Women this year, the UN hosted a number of events regarding how the current economic crisis is in particular effecting women. Considering that many microfinance recipients are women, this seems to be one more way in which the economic issues may be considered "gendered"

[Mikelle Adgate]

I also attended a few conferences at the CSW and I was constantly amazed at the ability to look at every current development issue from a "gendered" perspective. How poverty affects men and women differently, how economic empowerment can be directed towards women. I do wonder however, if these practices may lead to a breakdown in holistic approaches to community development. As we studied in the Casa Amiga case, women are often victimized by violence after outside actors open opportunities for empowerment and individual agency. Certainly this is not a reason to limit the number of women-specific development programs, but I do believe that aid agencies should consider the ramification of such programs on men and boys within the community. Hopefully holistic approaches such as educating boys and men on the benefits of girls and women attending school or receiving financial independence, will become a part of the system of these organizations.