CONFERENCE ON MFIS BOARD OF DIRECTORS & MANAGEMENT CONSORTIUM 2019 November 20, 2019 Park Village Resort, Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu RATIONALE: Microfinance is considered as an important process for addressing the poverty. Globally, 2 billion people are out of the reach of the financial services. Countries, therefore, have given utmost importance for the development of microfinance sector to address the poverty and raise the living standard of the poor people. Microfinance has played a great role in expanding the financial services in the rural areas in Nepal. The landscape of microfinance has changed over the period, not only in Nepal, but also across the world. What Nepal can learn from the microfinance development in Bangladesh? What Nepal can learn from the experiences of Bandhan Bank, a Bank that transformed itself from the microfinance in India? What would be future prospects and challenges of microfinance in Nepal? What are the operational problems and the remedial strategies pertinent to strengthen the microfinance sector in Nepal? Taking these issues in consideration, Banking Finance and Insurance Institute is pleased to announce one day conference on “ MFIs Board of Directors and Management Consortium 2019”on 20th November 2019, at Park Village, Kathmandu, Nepal. This conference will draw together knowledge and ideas from the Respected Former Governor of Bangladesh, Dr. Atiur Rahman; MD and CEO Mr. Chandra Sekher Ghosh of Bandhan Bank, India; Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha, Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank; Mr Basanta Lamsal, President of Nepal Microfinance Bankers Association and CEO of Vijaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha, among others. The conference will have panel discussions including other prominent experts from the industry. LEARNING OBJECTIVE: This conference is expected to explore the recent landscape and development in the areas of microfinance operation in the neighboring countries (Bangladesh and India) and help Nepalese Board of Directors and other delegates to learn from their experiences. TARGET PARTICIPANT: This conference is mainly for the Board of Directors, CEOs and top management of MFIs; Department Heads and Senior Officials of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) involved in microfinance sector; and other professionals having interest in this sector. Certificate of participation will be issued to all the Board of Directors to comply with NRB Directives and other Delegates. SUBJECTS OF DISCUSSION: 1. The Changing Landscape of Microfinance: Learning Lessons from Bangladesh Dr. Atiur Rahman Professor (Honorary) University of Dhaka Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank Dr. Atiur Rahman is a Professor (Honorary) of Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka. He is also a Professor Emeritus of Canadian University of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Dr. Rahman served as the Governor of Central Bank of Bangladesh during the period of May 2009-March 2016. He occupied different positions in eminent research and academic institutions. After obtaining M.A. in Economics from Dhaka University, he pursued studies in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London under a Commonwealth Scholarship, securing M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics (1983). He was also awarded a Commonwealth Development Fellowship at the University of Manitoba in Canada (1989), a Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship at The University of London (1991-92), and a Visiting Research Fellowship, at the Institute of South- East Asian Studies, Singapore (1998-99). The defining feature of Dr. Rahman’s tenure as a Governor was his decisive drive reorienting the institutional objectives and ethos to support a pro-poor, inclusive and sustainable development model through his flagship initiatives of financial inclusion and environmentally benign green banking. His consistent support for widespread digitization of both central banking and commercial banking has helped achieve robust transparency and accountability in the financial sector in Bangladesh. He made significant contribution in the 3GF conference, Rio+20, COP18 and MDG Global Compact international negotiations linking sustainability and socio‐economic development goals as a member/panelist of Bangladesh delegation. He was also a member of the UNEP Enquiry on designing ‘Global Sustainable Financing’. Under his dynamic leadership, Bangladesh Bank was awarded the ‘Best Employer of the Year 2014’ by Bdjobs.com (the largest online job portal in Bangladesh). Dr. Rahman has published 56 books in English and Bengali, besides, numerous papers in national and international journals. Dr. Rahman has won many awards and Gold Medals including the Asiatic Society’s (Kolkata) Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque-2011 for his outstanding contribution to international cooperation towards human progress, a certificate of world record by Hong Kong based World Record Association as the central bank governor undertaking the highest number of pro-poor and financial inclusive programs in the world, ‘Regulator with a Human Face’ by the University of Dhaka, and Manila based GUSI Peace Prize International 2014 in the field of Economics. Dr. Rahman has been awarded the Best Central Bank governor – Asia Pacific, 2015 by The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication for his role in channeling credit towards environmentally and socially responsible development projects and very recently, the Emerging Markets (a subsidiary of the Euro money) has also awarded him the ‘Central Bank Governor of the Year for Asia 2015’ in recognition of his unparalleled leadership to build confidence among the mass people, visually reflecting their faith in central bank policy. Bangla Academy has honored him with the Bangla Academy Literary Award for 2015 for his extraordinary contribution in Bangla literature. 2. Digital Transformation in the Microfinance Sector: Learning Lessons from Bandhan Bank Mr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh Founder/ CEO/ Managing Director, Bandhan Bank, India Mr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is the Founder, Managing Director and CEO of Bandhan Bank Ltd., the first universal bank to be set up in Eastern India after Independence. This is also the first instance of a microfinance entity being transformed into a commercial bank in the history of Indian banking. The banking license recognizes Mr. Ghosh’s seminal work in financial inclusion in India. Even after becoming a bank, Bandhan has not deviated from its path – giving small loans to millions to change their lives, generating employment and doing business profitably. With a pan-India presence, the bank caters to 1.74 crore customers and has 32, 774 employees on its payroll as on June 30, 2019. A Penguin Random House publication ‘Bandhan: The Making of a Bank’ (2016) has chronicled Mr. Ghosh’s journey as an institution-builder. Mr. Ghosh was elected as a ‘Senior Ashoka Fellow’ – social entrepreneurship award – in 2007 by Ashoka Foundation. Since then, he has received a string of awards in recognition of his leadership, creativity and contribution in the field of inclusive finance. For instance, in 2014, he won the Forbes India Leadership Awards in the category ‘Entrepreneur with Social Impact’. He was also declared ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by India’s leading business daily The Economic Times in the same year. He received the Microfinance India Award 2015, instituted by ACCESS, in the category ‘Lifetime contribution to the sector by an individual’; he was also conferred with the ‘Outstanding Leadership’ Award 2015 by Dhaka University, Statistics Department Alumni Association and has been bestowed with the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award in the category ‘Financial Services’ by Ernst & Young in 2016. Mr. Ghosh has been awarded with the Management Excellence Awards 2016 in the category ‘Corporate Leadership’ by Calcutta Management Association (CMA). He has also received the CNN-News18 ‘Indian of the Year’ award in the ‘Business’ category and the C. Rangarajan Award for Excellence in Banking at the 48th Skoch Summit in 2017. Mr. Ghosh is a M.Sc. in Statistics; he has attended the HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership at Harvard Business School. He has also completed the Certification Programme in IT & Cyber Security conducted by Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), established by the Reserve Bank of India. 3. The Future of Microfinance in Nepal Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha Executive Director, Micro-Finance Promotion & Supervision Department, Nepal Rastra Bank ntly Executive Director of Microfinance Promotion and Supervision Department, Nepal Rastra Bank. n 1997, since then he has worked in various departments, particularly Research Department for more putation, he also served as a Vice-Chairman of Province Planning Commission, Province 5 during SAARCFINANCE Coordinator of the bank during 2016-17. D in Economics from The New School, New York in 2012. He did Master in Economics and Finance ty, Perth, Australia in 2004. Before that, he completed a MA (Economics) from Tribhuvan University in 1997. He has published several research papers in national and international journals, and contributed book chapters to books published abroad. He also writes opinion articles in national newspapers and magazines. 4. Operational Issues of Microfinance in Nepal Mr. Basanta Lamsal CEO, Vijaya LaghuBitta Bittiya Sanstha (VLBS) President, Nepal Microfinance Bankers Association Mr. Basanta Lamsal is the Chief Executive Officer and Founding Chairperson of Vijaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (VLBS). He is an enthusiastic and dedicated professional with a