The Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) presents:

First Annual Conference for Funded Researchers

November 4-5, 2009
Doheny Beach Conference Room, UCI Student Center

This conference brings together the Institute’s inaugural set of award recipients who will present their preliminary findings based on research in 14 developing countries. As more and more philanthropic, industry and development actors ask whether mobile technology can help provide access to needed financial services like savings and money transfer, these projects look to the experience on the ground of existing, traditional money systems and financial practices, as well as the potential and real impact of new technology in providing access to finance for the world’s poor.

November 4
Session 1: Traditional money management
Mani Nandhi, Centre for Microfinance - Chennai, India
Syed Aiman Raza, Shia Degree College - Lucknow, India
Magdalena Villarreal, CIESAS - Tlalpan, Mexico
Maria Eugenia Santana, Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas - Chiapas, Mexico

Session 2: Existing indigenous money practices
Kenneth Omeje, United States International University - Nairobi, Kenya
Thanuja Mummidi, French Institute of Pondicherry - Pondicherry, India
Svetlana Tyukhteneva, Ethnoconsulting Ltd. - Moscow, Russia

Session 3: Impact of m-banking and ICTs
Sirimevan S. Colombage, The Open University of Sri Lanka - Nawala, Nugegoda
Beatrice Magembe and Alice Shemi, University of Botswana - Gabarone, Botswana
Francis Wambalaba, Akosa Wambalaba, and Philip Machoka
United States International University - Nairobi, Kenya

November 5
Session 4: Multiple currencies and local money systems
Marco Crocco, Federal University of Minas Gerais - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Caroline Schuster, University of Chicago - Chicago, IL
Mrinalini Tankha, Brandeis University - Waltham, MA

Session 5: Microfinance and technology
Crystal Murphy Morgan, University of California, Irvine
Anke Schwittay and Paul Braund, RiOS Institute - Berkeley, CA

Session 6: Alternative methods of managing finance and protection against risk
Melissa Cliver, Financial Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) - Montreal, Quebec
Harsha de Silva, LIRNEasia - Columbo, Sri Lanka
Catur Sugiyanto, Sri Yani Kusumastuti, and Duddy Donna
Universitas Gadja Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Registration is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Parking is available in the Student Center Parking Structure for $7. To register, please email imtfi@uci.edu or call (949) 824-2284 by Oct. 26. For complete schedule and additional information, please go to www.imtfi.uci.edu.