This year, five of us from Opportunity International attended the 6th Annual Chicago Microfinance Conference at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Alongside other microfinance professionals, as well as educators, graduate and undergraduate students, we delved deep into the topics and discussed the ever-evolving microfinance industry.

But there’s still more to cover. The topics of panels were fascinating, but experts are learning more and more all the time about how microfinance can be sustainable and effective. During the panel, “Impact Monitoring and Reporting,” moderator Alicia S. Menendez insisted, ”We need an academically rigorous examination of microfinance. We need coordination among the MFIs in order to have a serious examination of the industry.”

All week long, the attendees from Opportunity have been writing blog posts, sharing what we learned and reflecting on our discussions.

Here is a look back at the panels and topics we covered this week in the blog…

1. Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance? by Sonja Egeland Kelly
2. Bringing It All Home: The Challenges of Microfinance in the US by Emily Riemer
3. Does Microfinance Break the Cycle of Poverty? by Rob Moll 
4. Will MFIs Ever Be An Asset Class on Wall Street? by Eric Meyer

Join us next year for the 7th Annual Chicago Microfinance Conference and continue the conversation!