Asia Microfinance Forum 2010 Workshops

Workshop A: Social Performance Management – Microfinance Centre
Workshop B: Client Protection – Smart Campaign
Workshop C: Financing Strategies For MFIs: The Essential Checklist For Successful Investor Relationship Management – Symbiotics
Workshop D: Housing Finance – Interactive Discussion

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Workshop D: Housing Finance – Interactive Discussion

13th October
Thursday 14th October
1330 – 1700

                                          

Join this interactive discussion to learn about the growing role of microfinance in increasing access to housing, and here from the organisation innovating on this issue.

Sessions include:

Patrick McAllister, Housing Finance Director, Habitat for Humanity
Session title: Reaching Low Income Communities with Housing Finance

  • Construction technology to bring down the cost of a home for low income families
  • Secured and unsecured lending
  • Saving schemes for housing improvement

Ayanthi Gurusinghe, CEO, LFSUS
Session title: Leveraging housing finance for microfinance institutions

  • Taking bank loans, preparing financial papers , financial literacy, bank guarantees;
  • Address the differences between housing finance and microenterprise finance from the MFI perspective;
  • Building systems and people capability within MFI’s.

Facilitators

Patrick McAllister
Director of Housing Finance
Habitat for Humanity International – Asia-Pacific Office

Patrick leads the Asia/Pacific region’s strategy in Housing Finance, including promotion of innovative investment vehicles, microfinance, savings and financial education. He has worked in retail banking and with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, creating alternatives to foreclosure for low income borrowers and securitization of mortgage assets. He was director of microfinance at Catholic Relief Services, overseeing microfinance programs in 30 countries, and founded a consulting firm advising clients on financial inclusion, consumer protection and market development, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) network.  Patrick holds an M.A. in Development Studies from University College, Dublin, and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.  He is based in Bangkok.

Ayanthi Gurusinghe
CEO
Lanka Financial Services for Underserved Settlements (LFSUS)

Chief Executive Officer of Lanka Financial Services for Underserved Settlements (LFSUS), a company  engaged in providing innovative financing solutions to low income families  with the objective of making low income settlers  bankable. With a degree in Banking and Finance from Bankers Association Sri Lanka, and has a MBA from Preston University, USA , She has also obtained professional exposure overseas in Housing Finance, credit analysis, Social and Urban Development, and special studies in Women empowerment and Slum Upgrading. Mrs Gurusinghe began her career with Deutsche Bank AG  as an Trade & Risk Finance officer. ten  years of experience in handling a demanding corporate clientele consisting of multinationals and large corporate.   Mrs Gurusinghe then moved  to the social and development sector by joining United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN Habitat)  to give leadership to innovate the  Slum Upgrading project in Sri Lanka, and moved on to Join hands with Emerging Markets Group UK as Country Adviser to  create Local Finance Facilities to support low-income housing finance.