Microfinance insights hosts Vodafone, FINO, BASIX for public discussion

Mumbai, June 30: : On Thursday, July 3rd, international microfinance magazine Microfinance Insights will bring together key leaders from telecom, technology and livelihoods to discuss how innovations in technology can enable financial inclusion in India. The panel event, Technology and Financial Inclusion: What Works?, is sponsored by Financial Information Network & Operations Ltd. (FINO), a provider of cutting edge technologies like Smart cards and biometric devices to financial institutions.

With more than 31% of the population classified as “unbanked” in a country of 1.1 billion, there is increasing interest—from a range of private and public stakeholders—in creating innovative banking solutions to reach this market quickly and at the least cost. The event, Technology and Financial Inclusion: What Works?, comes at a time when multi-national telecommunications providers are vying for a share of the rural market.

This event comes on the heels of several new developments in the microfinance sector. On Friday, June 27, Nokia announced plans to launch internet-based services in rural India with a focus on microfinance and agricultural services. A week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced draft guidelines on mobile banking. Such legislation could enable companies such as Vodafone, which made its foray into the Indian market last year, to launch its popular M-PESA money transfer service, which has been hugely successful in Kenya.

However, mobile technology is not the only way of banking the unbanked. A host of banking technologies-smart cards, biometric devices, point-of-sale (POS) devices – are being quickly adopted by mainstream banks and telecom companies in an effort to become more competitive, efficient and expand services.

But what works best for greater financial inclusion? Who will lead the charge: commercial banks, microfinance institutions or telecom providers? Who are the players, and what must they do to accelerate financial inclusion? What role does regulation play in enabling technology to reach the unbanked? Most importantly, what sort of technology solutions will work best for this market segment? The panelists at Technology and Financial Inclusion: What Works? will discuss these questions and more on July 3, 2008. This event is open to the press.

Technology and Financial Inclusion: What Works?

A Discussion about Microfinance, Regulation, M-banking, Technology & Financial Inclusion

Speakers:

-- Vijay Mahajan, Founder, BASIX

-- Rajesh Dongre, Head, Mobile Business Commerce, Vodafone India

-- Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, IIT, Chennai

-- Manish Khera, CEO, FINO

Date:

-- Thursday, July 3, 2008

Time:

-- 4:00pm-6:00pm (Registration begins at 3:30)

Venue:

-- Hotel Grand Hyatt, Santa Cruz (E), Mumbai, India

Seats are limited. All press and guests...