I recently traveled to Bangkok with two MIF colleagues to attend the second annual Impact and Policy Conference, sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), the Citi Foundation and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). The conference brought together over 200 researchers, policy makers, and international development specialists to go over the most recent impact findings on improving programs and policies for the poor. It was clear from the diverse list of participants, that donors and policy makers alike are actively seeking evidence with which to assess welfare outcomes on beneficiaries. There was consensus that financial outcomes are merely intermediary effects, and that what is ultimately sought are increases in things like consumption, health, asset building, housing investment, income smoothing, ability to withstand shocks, etc. Given these goals, research into what products and mechanisms lead to these outcomes is very important to ensure that resources go into programs that can deliver the desired impacts.

The MIF is counting down to Foromic 2012. Foromic has long been the leading conference on microfinance and microenterprise in Latin America and the Caribbean, but in recent years its focus has broadened and now includes small and medium enterprise finance, financial products for poor and unbanked populations, and impact investment. This year, Foromic has a special island flavour, as it is being held for the first time in an English-speaking Caribbean country, Barbados. We see this as an excellent opportunity to showcase our work in the Caribbean - both in supporting access to finance in general, and specifically our initiatives to promote impact investing in the region.