Petra News Agency | Queen attends conference on women-focused finance

November 26, 2013

Women’s World Banking conference Building Women-Focused Finance: The Global Experience was held under the patronage Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. Queen Rania attended the session entitled “What do women-focused products and services look like?” moderated by President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian. Our Chief Product Officer Anna Gincherman presented.

Photo Credit: Petra
Photo Credit: Petra

Queen attends conference on women-focused finance

Excerpt:

Amman, Nov. 19 (Petra) — Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah attended on Tuesday a global conference titled “Building Women-Focused Finance: The Global-Local Experience”, that aims to promote financial inclusion for low-income women.

Held by Women’s World Banking (WWB) under the patronage of Her Majesty, the two-day conference hosted by Microfund for Women/Jordan brings together more than 250 microfinance practitioners, commercial bankers, investors, donors, and regulators from more than 40 countries to discuss key issues in financial inclusion for low-income women.

Participants will explore the landscape of financial needs and services in the MENA region, which has the lowest percentage of women participating in the formal finance sector in the world, according to the World Bank. This will set the stage for a broader conversation on access to finance, particularly as it pertains to women.

Featuring global and regional experts, the sessions will focus on how financial institutions can expand their market by developing a suite of products to meet the specific needs of women. In addition, experts will discuss innovative approaches to reaching three segments of the underserved population: youth, salaried workers, and rural women. Microfinance leaders from Lebanon, Tunisia, and Pakistan will share their experiences operating in crisis situations, including political instability, influx of refugees and natural disasters.

Queen Rania attended a session titled ‘What do women-focused products and services look like?’. Panelists Anna Gincherman, Chief Product Officer of WWB, Mohammed Al-Lai, CEO of AL Amal Microfinance Bank in Yamen, and Ms. Dolores M. Torres, President and CEO of Card Bank in the Philippines explored how financial institutions can expand their market by developing a suite of products to meet the specific needs of women clients.

The session was moderated by Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of WWB.

“I’m truly excited to bring these diverse voices together to share experiences and begin to close the financial inclusion gap for women. Women’s World Banking has always drawn strength and purpose from our global network of partners. By sharing unique challenges and approaches to serving women well, we will all gain a greater understanding of what it takes for financial institutions to serve women clients while also being sustainable,” said Iskenderian.

Read full article at Petra

Newslink: “Queen attends conference on women-focused finance