Date and Time
March 10-March 11, 2015
9:00 am-3:00 pm
Location
Hong Kong
Topic
Women’s Empowerment | Supply Chain
Approximately 2.5 billion of the world’s adults fail to use formal financial services to save or borrow money. Of that number, 90 percent live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Vesting the poor with knowledge, skills, and attitudes about financial management, and improving their access to financial products, helps them invest in economic opportunities, better manage their money, plan for the future, and reduce risks related to illness or loss of employment.
With the successful completion of the HERfinance pilot in India, BSR will convene experts, partners, and regulators to share lessons learned and examine how to effectively develop and implement financial capability programs in the workplace and to successfully bring them to scale.
Please join us for an action-oriented, two-day event in Hong Kong March 10-11, 2015, which will explore:
- How financial education, new financial product innovation, and effective regulation promote the financial capability of low-income adults.
- How to successfully develop, implement, and scale workplace-based programs.
- Which resources and best practices exist to address financial inclusion among low-income adults.
We will also launch the HERfinance Pilot Report, featuring results from the HERfinance pilot in India, and share a special short film on the project.
Agenda: Day 1
9-9:20 a.m. | Breakfast
9:20-9:35 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
- Jeremy Prepscius, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, BSR
- Nathalie Roberts, Director, HERproject
9:35-10:05 a.m. | HERfinance: Building Financial Capability in the Supply Chain
- Chhavi Ghuliani, Project Director, HERfinance
10:05-11:05 a.m. | Building Financial Capability through Education
- How can financial education improve financial inclusion?
- What are best practices in implementing financial education programs?
- What are innovative approaches to financial education?
- What are the primary challenges? When is financial education effective and ineffective?
- Why are financially capable employees good for business?
- What are the unique financial education needs of women?
Speakers
- Chhavi Ghuliani, Project Director, HERfinance
- Maru Cortazar, Executive Director, Appleseed Mexico
- Mark Devadason, Group Head of Sustainability, Standard Chartered
- David Kneebone, General Manager, Investor Education Centre (moderator)
11:05-11:25 a.m. | Networking Break
11:25-11:45 a.m. | Researching Demands of Smallholder Farmers
- Michael Tarazi, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. | Innovation in Financial Product Development
- What are the unique needs of low-income women that must be considered in product design?
- How can partnerships encourage the development of better products?
- How does one design a product for low-income people? What does a well-designed product look like?
- What are examples of innovative financial products that overcome access barriers?
Speakers
- Cathleen Tobin, Director, Product Development, Women’s World Banking
- Puneet Chopra, Associate Director, MicroSave
- Michael Tarazi, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
- Connie Cheung, Program Manager, The Women's Foundation (moderator)
12:45-1:45 p.m. | Lunch
1:45-2:05 p.m. | Wage Digitization in Bangladesh's Garment Sector
- Lynn Eisenhart, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2:05-3:05 p.m. | Digital Payments as a Pathway to Responsible, Scalable Financial Inclusion
- How can digital financial services address access barriers women in particular face?
- How does an employer covert to digital payroll in a responsible way?
- How can payroll turn the workplace into a demand generation point for financial services?
- What are the benefits and challenges of converting to digital payments for multinational buyers, and their suppliers?
Speakers
- Mia Overall, Better than Cash Alliance
- Anthony Tang, Digital Commerce, GSMA
- Lynn Eisenhart, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Chhavi Ghuliani, Program Director, HERfinance (moderator)
3:05-3:25 p.m. | Networking Break
3:25-3:45 p.m. | In Conversation with Jeremy Prepscius, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, BSR
3:45-4:45 p.m. | Implementing Programs Along Global Supply Chains
- What are best practices in implementing workplace-based programs?
- How can the workplace be used effectively as a training center?
- How can the employer be engaged to improve impact of workplace programs?
- Is there a business case for workplace based programs?
- How can workplaces be improved to meet the needs of women in the workforce?
Speakers
- Joseph Julian, Director, Swasti
- Madalina Bouros, Community Enterprise Solutions
- Leo Benitez, Director for Human Resources and Compliance, Luenthai Philippines
- Jeremy Prepscius, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, BSR
- Elissa Goldenberg, Manager, HERproject (moderator)
4:45-5 p.m. | Closing Remarks
- Nathalie Roberts, Director, HERproject
Agenda: Day 2
9-9:30 a.m. | Breakfast
9:30-9:35 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
- Nathalie Roberts, Director, HERproject
9:35-9:50 a.m. | Product Demo: Labor Link
- Heather Franzese, Director, Good World Solutions
9:50-11:10 a.m. | Workshop 1: How to Effectively Measure the Impact of Programs
- What are best practices in impact measurement?
- How do you capture quantitative and qualitative impacts?
- What are potential biases that may arise?
- How does M&E differ between companies and development organizations?
Workshop Leader
- Katherine Fritz, Director, International Center for Research on Women
11:10-11:25 a.m. | Networking Break
11:25-11:40 a.m. | Product Demo: Cash to Digital Toolkit for Business
- Mia Overall, Better than Cash Alliance
11:40 a.m.-1 p.m. | Workshop 2: Designing Programs that Address the Needs of Women
- Cathleen Tobin, Director, Women’s World Banking
1-2 p.m. | Lunch
2-2:45 p.m. | Action Items
- Additional information to come
2:45-3 p.m. | Closing Remarks
- Nathalie Roberts, Director, HERproject
Event Sponsors
Event Host
BSR would also like to thank ANN INC. for its contribution.