NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The conference seeks to bring together various key financial market participants and stakeholders in raising awareness of—and strategizing solutions for— expanding access to financial services via improved financial literacy, financial inclusion, and consumer protection. The continued viability of a robust financial market and economy hinges on extensive work on these variables. While seemingly simple, they are critical to ensuring the stable development of the market, reducing key regulatory and systemic risks, and maximizing the availability of quality financial services to the public.

Current participants of the Conference include representatives of Russian financial institutions (banks, MFIs), Russian and international experts—including experts on financial inclusion, education, and literacy— national regulators, public authorities, and journalists.

Key speakers include official representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, and the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation; international experts such as Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); leaders of the Russian financial institutions and professional associations in the financial market; and «SUPPORT Russia».

The conference is organized by the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC), the National Partnership of Microfinance Market (NAUMIR) and the Citi Foundation, and is supported by the Russian Ministry of Finance.