Editor: PlaNet Finance Deutschland e.V.

ISSN 2190-2291

The University Meets Microfinance programme (UMM) presents its first "UMM Award": Each year, the UMM Awards honour outstanding theses on microfinance and give recognition to the work of young researchers. The UMM Award winners are selected by a committee of professors and microfinance practitioners, and recognize theses presenting innovative research topics and approaches. Microfinance has gained scale and recognition over the last decade. Today, Microfinance Institutions reach approximately 150 million low-income people who were previously excluded from formal banking systems, with financial services which include credit, savings, insurance and money transfer. This rapid expansion has also come with increasing challenges.
Research on microfinance provides new insights into these challenges and can foster innovation in the sector. In 2009, 720 practitioners, students and professors from 14 universities of the European Union participated in UMM. The programme is co-financed by the European Union and was initiated by PlaNet Finance and Freie Universität Berlin with the aim of strengthening the cooperation between European universities and microfinance practitioners. In addition to promoting research publications, UMM offers microfinance seminars in partnership with European universities, mentorship and field research scholarships for Bachelor, Master and PhD students, and organizes regular workshops with UMM participants.

University Meets Microfinance on MikrofinanzWiki