40 Years of Success Through Direct Outreach – Graham A.N. Wright as Panellist at the Gates Foundation’s Global Savings Forum

On November 16-17, 2010, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation brought together a remarkable assembly of the leading experts on savings for the poor to discuss experiences to date and strategies for the future in pursuit of the vision that "all people - particularly those living on less than $2 a day - have easy, safe and affordable places to save whether at corner stores, in post offices or through mobile phones". MicroSave's Programme Director, Graham A.N. Wright, ran a panel session on "40 Years of Success Through Direct Outreach", during which he discussed the experiences of Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Grameen Bank, Equity Bank and savings and loans associations along with Stuart Rutherford, Marguerite Robinson and Vinod Parmeshwar.

Other sessions focused on massive outreach through retail channels; the challenging economics of small-balance accounts; new partnerships for technology-enabled financial inclusion; the challenges of operating through third-party retail stores; how governments can promote financial inclusion; and balancing opportunity, innovation and safety while regulating."