The Independent Evaluation Group & World Bank InfoShop
Invite you to a Panel Discussion and Launch of the IEG Study on
Financing Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises through Financial Intermediaries
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2008
10 am - 12 pm
IFC Auditorium
International Finance Corporation
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue (Entrance on K Street)
Coffee and a light breakfast available from 9:30-10:00 am
Please RSVP to infoshopevents@worldbank.org
EVENT DESCRIPTION
The Independent Evaluation Group brings together evaluators, financiers,
practitioners, and a microfinance bank to talk about micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) in the developing world.
MSMEs constitute the bulk of the private sector in most developing countries and
can contribute significantly to economic growth, employment creation, and
poverty reduction. However, limited access to finance has often constrained
their development, particularly in frontier countries (high-risk or low-income).
Supporting MSMEs through financial intermediaries in these countries has been a
strategic priority for IFC. The current IEG study examines the effectiveness of
IFC's strategy.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ifc.org/ieg/MSME
Order a copy of the book at:
http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=8170485
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Vinod Thomas
Director General, Evaluation
Independent Evaluation Group, The World Bank Group
Mr. Thomas is the Director-General of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) at
the World Bank Group. His previous positions include Country Director for
Brazil, Vice President of the World Bank Institute (WBI), and Chief Economist
for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region. In addition, he was the
staff Director for the 1991 World Development Report entitled The Challenge of
Development.
CHAIR
Marvin Taylor-Dormond
Director, Independent Evaluation Group-IFC
Mr. Taylor-Dormond is the Director of the Independent Evaluation Group at IFC
(IEG-IFC). Mr. Taylor-Dormond joined IEG-IFC after a successful career in the
Central American Bank of Economic Integration in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he
held positions such as Controller (Independent Oversight and Evaluation
Authority), Executive Vice President and most recently, Chief Economist and
Chief Evaluation. He also served as Vice-Minister of Finance for the Republic of
Costa Rica, his native country.
PANELISTS
Amitava Banerjee
Manager, Independent Evaluation Group -IFC
Mr. Banerjee joined the World Bank Group in 1979 through the Young Professionals
Program. He has experience as an Investment Officer in Asia, Europe and the
Middle East, and in Advisory Services in the Pacific. In 1998, at the start of
the Asian crisis, he was appointed Regional Manager for Indonesia and Malaysia
and posted to Jakarta, Indonesia. He returned to Headquarters in 2002 as
Manager, Strategy and Coordination for the East Asia and Pacific Department.
James Scriven
Director, Global Financial Markets Group, IFC
Mr. Scriven is Director of Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean, and
Sub-Saharan Africa regions at IFC?s Global Financial Markets Department. He
joined IFC in April 2002 and was responsible for the restructuring efforts in
the Argentine financial sector. Since then, he has held several positions in the
Global Financial Markets Department prior to his current assignment.
Elizabeth Littlefield
Director, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Ms. Littlefield is one of the World Bank's senior spokespeople on microfinance.
She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
(CGAP), a multi-donor organization created to help build a large-scale permanent
microfinance industry providing flexible, high-quality financial services on a
sustainable basis to the poor. Prior to joining CGAP in 1999, Ms. Littlefield
was the Managing Director in charge of J.P. Morgan's financing business in
Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. She
has served on the executive board of several organizations, including Women's
World Banking, Profund, and Africa International Financial Holdings.
Carolina Velazco
Deputy Director, Strategic Planning, Banco Compartamos, Mexico
Ms. Velazco is the Deputy Director of Strategic Planning at Banco Compartamos, a
successful IFC client and a financial institution that provides microloans to
micro enterprises in Mexico. She has been working at Compartamos for over five
years with responsibilities in corporate relations and governance, coordinating
the transformation of Compartamos into a bank as part of its strategic planning
process. Ms. Velazco has previously worked in the Global Operations of Goldman
Sachs at México Casa de Bolsa.
* * * * * * * *
About IEG-IFC
The Independent Evaluation Group at IFC (IEG-IFC) independently evaluates IFC's
operations, including its investment activities and advisory services operations
with particular attention to accountability - IFC's achievement of its
objectives for private sector development, and learning - identification and
dissemination of lessons and findings that can be operationalized by IFC staff
and others involved or interested in sustainable private sector development.
For more information, visit: http://www.ifc.org/ieg
About the InfoShop
The InfoShop is the public information center of the World Bank and serves as a
forum for substantial debate on international development. Our extensive events
program consists of more than 250 events over the past two years and has hosted
many internationally recognized speakers including Queen Noor, Francis Fukuyama,
Jeffrey Sachs, Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Friedman, and Carly Fiorina.
The InfoShop functions as the only publicly accessible space at headquarters and
provides internal and external audiences with over 15,000 titles published by
the World Bank, international organizations, and other publishers on development
issues.
For more information, visit: www.worldbank.org/infoshop
Comments about the events program: http://go.worldbank.org/TDG9T8O9K0
