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

Microfinance relates in multiple ways to environmental concerns and opportunities. Actions taken from MFIs were before anecdotical and nowadays have come to stay. This is increasingly visible in terms of institutions launching green products and practices.

An important question is how microfinance actually contributes to changes on the ground and how this relates to questions of ‘sustainability’. Researchers at the IOB have been dealing with this question from a Development Studies perspective and through an action-research programme together with FDL-Nitlapan in Nicaragua. Based on this experience and with concrete examples they will discuss challenges and opportunities to link microfinance services with ‘transformations to sustainability’. Participants are invited to discuss their experience with linking practice and research.

Invited speaker: 
Dr. Frédéric Huybrechs, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp – Institute of Development Policy (IOB)

Moderator: Dr.-Ing. Natalia Realpe Carrillo, HEDERA – Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)

Time: 4:00 PM CET / 10:00 AM EST