European Microfinance Week 2021

Laura HEMRIKA, on behalf of the e-MFP Board, closed the European Microfinance Week (EMW) 2021 and provided an overview of the conference statistics, pointing out that this year’s edition achieved a record number of participants.

Noting that there are both challenges and opportunities that come with a digital conference, Hemrika  mentioned that a hybrid conference model allows participation from all over world including those who could not normally join us in Luxembourg and hopes this element may be kept for  future EMW’s.

Hemrika reflected on the resilience of the sector and the continuous drive for collaboration to better serve the end-users. She continued by summarising on the emerging themes of the conference, highlighting impact and outcome measurement, climate and green finance, financial inclusion for women and health care as key topics for the sector.

Hemrika congratulated the winner of the European Microfinance Award 2021 on financial inclusion and healthcare, as well as the other semi-finalists and finalists for their important work in facilitating access to healthcare. She encouraged the audience to learn more in  e-MFP’s The First Wealth is Health publication, which highlights best practices and reminded everyone that the theme of the 2022 European Microfinance Award will be financial inclusion for women.

Hemrika concluded by expressing her gratitude to the participants for their contributions and thaned the sponsors, media partners, and speakers. Finally, she gave special thanks to the e-MFP team and all those involved for successfully organising the virtual conference. She closed the conference with the hope to see everyone next year.