Second Annual Global Empowerment Meeting On Financial Empowerment

Cocktail Reception

Dinner & Keynote Address

Andrés Velasco, Minister of Finance, Chile

After weathering intense public criticism for his tight macroeconomic policy during a period of economic growth, Minister Velasco was vindicated last year when the global economy collapsed. Using the significant surplus he had generated for Chile, he was able to utilize those savings to fund the largest stimulus package in all of Latin America. He is now lauded as one of the most effective economic policy makers in the Western Hemisphere. Among other insights, Minister Velasco brings a deep and intuitive understanding of the causes of – and resolutions to -- the financial crisis, both as a distinguished economics scholar and a real-time policy maker.

Continental Breakfast

Opening Discussion

"Financial Access and Future Prosperity for Nations"

A retrospective view of international economic development over the past several decades reveals a very mixed performance. While the record shows some notable successes, they are countered by dismal failures, and the financial crisis further decreased our confidence in the field’s traditional tools. As we consider new, more effective approaches to economic development worldwide, how does the challenge of increasing access to markets and financially empowering the poor fit into strategies for creating future prosperity?

RICARDO HAUSMANN, Director, Center for International Development, Harvard University
SANDY PENTLAND, Toshiba Professor of Media, Arts, and Sciences, MIT
ROY SOSA, CEO, MPOWER Ventures

Special Focus

"Giving Credit to Savings"

The key to financial empowerment is access to productive capital, and helping people to save their income is a critical part of generating that resource. New research in behavioral economics has shown that our traditional theories and assumptions about why people save are wrong – and that leveraging some types of “external self-discipline” can overcome traditional barriers to individual savings. This session will apply these emerging insights to the complex challenge of financial empowerment.

DEAN KARLAN, Professor of Economics, Yale University

Coffee Break

Discussion 1

"Regulatory Issues for Expanding Financial Access"

The regulation of financial products and services, though well-intended, often inadvertently limits access to needed products in many markets. By increasing costs, these regulations unintentionally limit innovation and service expansion. This international panel will discuss priorities for modernizing policy with particular attention to the interplay between the private sector, public regulatory agencies, and Central Banks. Session will consist of a thirty minute interactive interview with panelists, followed by a sixty minute interactive discussion with the entire group.

JOSÉ DARÍO URIBE E., Gerente General, Banco de la República, Colombia
ANDRES VÉLASCO, Minister of Finance, Chile
ROY SOSA, CEO, MPOWER Ventures
ELIZABETH LITTLEFIELD, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
LILIANA ROJAS-SUAREZ, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Panel moderated by LANT PRITCHETT, Professor of Practice, Harvard Kennedy School

Lunch Speaker (TBD)

Discussion 2

"Beyond Mobile: The Next Generation of Technology for Empowerment"

Technological innovation will be the enabler of full financial inclusion. This panel will feature new ideas and prototypes, including research that has yet to be tested in mainstream markets and that has the potential to revolutionalize the usability and reach of financial products and services. What will this revolution look, feel and sound like? What comes after mobile phones? Session will consist of a thirty minute interactive interview with panelists, followed by a sixty minute interactive discussion with the entire group.

WALTER BENDER, Founder, SugarLabs
JHONATAN ROTBERG, Founder and Director of the Next Billion Network Program, MIT
SANDY PENTLAND, Toshiba Professor of Media, Arts, and Sciences, MIT

Panel moderated by ANDREW MCAFEE, Principal Research Scientist, Center for Digital Business, MIT Sloan School of Management

Coffee Break

Empowerment Roundtable Discussions

Meeting participants will have the opportunity to explore a financial empowerment topic in depth at intimate roundtable discussions led by Empowerment Lab researchers. These discussions will provide a forum for deepening the insights of the previous two days by highlighting specific strategies, business concepts, technologies, and current research. After one hour of discussion, groups will present their insights into key questions.

Entrepreneurial Finance
What are key strategies for unlocking the ‘Missing Middle’ -- scalable, small- and medium-sized ventures -- that is often absent in developing economies?
Led by Professor Asim Khwaja and Bailey Klinger, Harvard Kennedy School

Health
What are the barriers to accessing reliable health services and systems in emerging economies? What are the implications of these barriers and how should we address them?
Led by Dr. Julio Frenk, Dean Harvard School of Public Health

Regulatory Priorities
How can governments help to unleash a new wave of products and services that will reach the poor? What role does new regulation play in this movement?
Led by Professor Ricardo Hausmann, Director of Center for International Development

Mobile Phone Applications
What is the next frontier for mobile phones and their applications? How do we move beyond telecommunication and basic financial transactions?
Led by Professor Jhonatan Rotberg, MIT

New Financial Services and Products
Which innovations in the following industries could play a dramatic role in moving people out of poverty?
          Microcredit Services led by Professor Rema Hanna, Harvard Kennedy School
          Insurance led by Professor Shawn Cole, Harvard Business School
          Savings led by Professor Dean Karlan, Yale University

Closing Remarks

An Opportunity for Collaboration: The Empowerment Lab

SUZI SOSA, President, MPOWER Foundation
RICARDO HAUSMANN, Director, Center for International Development, Harvard University

Cocktail Reception