Evidence to Action 2016: FinTech for Global Development

Technology is transforming the way people save, borrow, and make payments in emerging markets.

On May 9th, 2016, Evidence to Action: Fintech for Global Development showcased the work that CEGA affiliates and their partners are doing to assess the role of financial technology (or “FinTech”) in promoting financial inclusion and economic growth.

Through an afternoon of presentations and a panel discussion, the event demonstrated the critical importance of cross-sector collaboration–between academia, the public sector, and the private sector–in bridging the gap between Fintech innovation and social impact.

CEGA’s work in financial inclusion is motivated by the immense challenge of bringing 2 billion unbanked adults into the formal financial sector, and ensuring that financial products and social protection schemes are designed to maximize welfare benefits while minimizing the risk of over-indebtedness

Agenda

Opening Remarks – Hal Varian (Chief Economist, Google)

Financial Lives of the Unbanked – Temina Madon (Executive Director, CEGA)

Ending Poverty with Digital Payments – Michael Faye (Co–founder and Chair, Give Directly/Segovia) 

Targeted Crowds: Modernizing Statistical Data Collection with Local Expertise – Joe Reisinger (Co-founder, Premise)

KEYNOTE: Innovation for Good—Opportunities, Challenges and Imperatives – Terry Kramer (Anderson School of Management, UCLA; former Director and Regional President of Vodafone Americas)

Targeting Anti-Poverty Programs using Mobile Phone Data – Josh Blumenstock (Information School, University of Washington)

Riding the Rails: Providing Financial Services over the Network – Karim Khoja (CEO, Roshan)

An Alibaba for farmers: Linking Buyers & Sellers in Ugandan Maize Markets – Craig McIntosh (School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego)

Community Cellular Networks: Infrastructure for Financial Inclusion – Kurtis Heimerl (University of Washington)

A Personal Touch in Text Messaging for Microfinance – Melanie Morten (Economics, Stanford)

Banking on Trust: How Debit Cards Enable the Poor to Save More – Paul Gertler (Business and Public Health, UC Berkeley)

Big Data, Startups, and Public-Private Partnership – Carson Christiano (Director of Partnerships, CEGA)

Panel on Fintech Moderated by Kausik Rajgopal (Director, McKinsey & Co. Silicon Valley)

Closing Remarks – Anand Radhakrishnan (Principal, Investcorp Technology Partners)