Women's World Banking (WWB), the world’s largest network of microfinance institutions and banks, has just concluded its 14th Global Meeting and its 7th annual Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference. Both meetings focused on how to manage financial risk in an uncertain economic climate while continuing to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs

WWB Global Meetings, which are generally held biennially, are an opportunity to bring together MFI leaders, the WWB global team and other experts to discuss innovations and challenges in microfinance. The 2009 meeting, aptly titled “Focusing on Women: A Winning Strategy in Bad Times and Good,” gathered WWB network members from 40 microfinance institutions and banks in 29 countries to discuss why focusing on women is a sound strategy regardless of the economic climate.

The 7th annual WWB Microfinance and the Capital Markets Conference, “Maximizing Access in a Capital Constrained Environment,” gave leaders from the financial and microfinance communities the opportunity to network, discuss concrete funding deals, learn about key capital markets transactions in the industry, and take advantage of emerging opportunities by developing innovative ways of accessing capital. It had a special focus on the economic crisis— providing global and regional insights on the current capital landscape and strategies for MFIs to continue accessing capital in this environment. The agenda also included sessions on optimal capital structure, risk management; and outlooks for 2009 and beyond.