Chandula invited to speak at Microfinance Investment Summit in Hong Kong

Chandula Abeywickrema, Chairman of the Banking With the Poor Network and the Deputy General Manager – Marketing & Retail Banking of Hatton National Bank, has been invited to be on the opening keynote panel of speakers of the Microfinance Investment Summit, which will be held in Hong Kong from 2-3 December 2010.

Chandula is expected to speak on the role of the microfinance industry in developing countries and on striking the right balance between social and commercial returns of microfinance.  This is the first time C5 is bringing the Microfinance Investment Summit of this magnitude to Asia and the summit would focus on:

• Creating capital markets that support high social impact investments to maximise growth in developing countries.

• Reforming NGO MFIs to match the demands of the investors without changing their social mission.

• Implementing sustainable long-term business practices to increase efficiency and performance.

• Establishing cost-effective strategies for outreach to rural areas.

The theme of the conference is ‘New Global Initiatives on Sustainable, Economical Investment Strategies to Achieve Optimal Growth, Maximise Partnerships and Accelerate Return’.

The Asian microfinance industry is reaching significant maturity levels, which had drawn a larger segment of investor community to be greatly involved, facilitate and partner banks and microfinance institutes in empowering millions in Asia, not only in poverty alleviation but also in creation of millions of micro-entrepreneurs.  The conference will also feature key aspects such as:

• How can MFIs scale up to maximise their business performance and increase further investment?

• What are the strategies IFIs should consider to attract local investors?

Abeywickrema, as the Chairman of the Banking With The Poor Network, gave leadership to the most successful Asia Microfinance Forum held in Colombo in October with an attendance of 450 delegates from all over the world, would be indeed in a strong position to take critical learning points to the Microfinance Investment Summit as he shares the broader vision of the Banking With The Poor Network’s greater financial inclusion in Asia.