addressalign-toparrow-leftarrow-rightbackbellblockcalendarcameraccwcheckchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-small-downchevron-small-leftchevron-small-rightchevron-small-upchevron-upcircle-with-checkcircle-with-crosscircle-with-pluscrossdots-three-verticaleditemptyheartexporteye-with-lineeyefacebookfolderfullheartglobegmailgooglegroupsimageimagesinstagramlinklocation-pinm-swarmSearchmailmessagesminusmoremuplabelShape 3 + Rectangle 1outlookpersonJoin Group on CardStartprice-ribbonImported LayersImported LayersImported Layersshieldstartickettrashtriangle-downtriangle-uptwitteruseryahoo

Financing Where It Matters – Micro Finance & The Wider Community

21

Microfinance provides financial services--loans, savings, insurance, money transfers and training--to people outside mainstream services, many living in poverty. As one of the great success stories in the developing world in the last 30 years it is widely recognized as a sustainable solution in alleviating global poverty.

Today microfinance is making its mark in the developed world for helping social entrepreneurs, the unemployed and the marginalized to create business and work.

At this meeting we look at microfinance’s important role in helping on both a national and global scale to create employment and reduce poverty.

What is micro finance and how can it be accessed? How does it differ from the venture capital of the conventional world and what are the success stories?

To help us with this discussion we have

Dr Phyllis SantaMaria is an educator, multimedia developer and social entrepreneur passionate about enterprise development for sustainability and social impact. She started the first Mayan women’s weaving group in Guatemala in the mid 60s, and has seen the benefits of women’s empowerment through enterprise in action. Twice a UK national coordinator: BBC’s Domesday project, (‘crowd sourcing’ with a million to create the forerunner of the internet and Google maps 25 years ago) and 2005, the UN Year of Microcredit (UN and World Bank awards of excellence). She’s worked with microfinance since 2000, and today her London-based social enterprises offer team-building and sustainability programmes for values-based businesses with partners in the UK, Africa, Central America and Asia. (www.microfinancewithoutborders.com and www.threepointseven.com )

Digby Chacksfield, a very experienced and respected Learning Manager at SSE East of England. SSE was founded in 1997 by Michael Young. Its mission is to address inequalities and social exclusion by supporting social entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to transform their talent into real social outcomes, in the form of sustainable solutions to poverty and disadvantage in communities. It does this through the use of action-learning based programmes of personal and organisational development.

SSE supports individuals to realise their potential and to establish, scale and sustain, social enterprises and social businesses across the UK, Australia and Canada. They have just completed receiving applications for the first year of a 5 years' Lloyds Banking Group Social Entrepreneurs Programme.

Mike Baker is Chief Executive of The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF) and Director of Loans for the Big Issue Invest Group. Originally called the Local Investment Fund, TSELF was set up as a registered charity in 1994 to provide loan finance for charities and organisations with a charitable purpose, with the aim of overcoming the funding gap often experienced by social enterprises.

Earlier in 2012, TSELF merged with Big Issue Invest and Mike is now Director of Loans for the combined Group. The Group currently has around £6m of loans to charities and social enterprises and plans to more than double this over the next 3 years. . Mike has a lifelong commitment to charities and social enterprises; he was a board member of King’s Cross SRB for seven years and is now on the boards of the Community Development Finance Association and the Adventure Capital Fund.

This meeting is being held at The Westminster Hub, which is increasingly becoming a focal point for discussions about enterprise development and social change. We appreciate their involvement in this and you can find out more about The Westminster Hub at http://westminster.the-hub.net/

Join or login to comment.

  • Juneary R.
    Juneary R.

    Hi All
    I am having an event on Saturday 1st September at the O2 called Back2NatureFetival it is a fund raiser for sickle cell society please check out Back2NatureFestival.com for further info. Thanks.

    July 9, 2012

  • will w.
    will w.

    hi Juneary, please get in touch, I'd be interested to help. Will
    [masked]

    July 5, 2012

  • Ruby
    Ruby

    I really enjoyed the event - learnt lots, enjoyed the discussions and met some very interesting, dynamic people making good things happen!

    July 4, 2012

  • Paul R.
    Paul R.

    Great presentation. Could have been more clear about the time it started - the Meetup website said 17:30 and it actually started at 18:30. I paid online yesterday but no one asked for proof and someone said the first one was free anyway. Like other Meetup groups it would have been a good idea to have name tags as that is always an icebreaker when introducing yourself to other people.

    July 4, 2012

  • Juneary R.
    Juneary R.

    I am a director for a social enterprise company that works with sme across Lambeth and pan London we are going to start up a micro finance loan scheme but need the initially funds to support us can any one assist us. Thanks, Juneary Raymond

    July 4, 2012

  • Gerard
    Gerard

    there could have been more practical and participative advice

    July 4, 2012

  • terence f.
    terence f.

    A good coverage of the topic leading to some deep questions with good answers.

    July 4, 2012

  • Syeda Monira Akter K.
    Syeda Monira Akter K.

    Micro finance is the only way to the deprived community to have access to financial support for their survival.We have to be very careful to check any abuse of these fund, at the same time, the opportunity for the successful enterprising to upgrade their status

    June 28, 2012

  • Phyllis S.
    Phyllis S.

    As the Panel Chair and first speaker giving background on Microfinance in the 'developing world' and how it's developed in the UK for social enterprises I'd like to know specific questions you'd like answered. I'm going to assume that the audience knows nothing about microfinance, the silent revolution for a hand up, not a hand out, so I'll explain lessons learnt from microfinance abroad for social entrepreneurs in the UK. What do you really want to know? We will cover UK access MF too.

    May 30, 2012

85 went

London, United Kingdom

Founded Apr 3, 2007
Annual Subscription
GBP15.00 a year

Organizers:

Francis Sealey, Ann Little, Arianna De Mario, Christina Wiltshire, Michael Fischer, Peter Feltham
Contact

Annual Subscription

GBP15.00 a year

This covers: Contributions help us cover administration costs, site costs and development.

Payment is accepted using:

  • PayPal
  • Cash or check - “Members can pay through PayPal. Those who want to pay be cheque should contact the Organiser.”

Your organizer will refund you if:

  • Joining fees cover a year of activities of GlobalNet21. If anyone thinks that they should be refunded then they should contact the organiser and discuss that with him.
Close

Our Sponsors

People in this
Meetup are also in:

Sign up

Meetup members, Log in

or

By clicking "Sign up" or "Sign up using Facebook", you confirm that you accept our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy