Debbie Watkins, Managing Director APMEA for Fern Software, was a panellist at the VIII Central American and the Caribbean Microfinance Conference entitled “Technology: Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion”. The conference, attended by more than 800 microfinance professionals from the central america region, was held on August 3-5th, 2016 in Managua, Nicaragua.

The Conference serves as a platform to highlight the evolution of the microfinance sector in the region while acknowledging the important challenges still to be addressed. At the same, it promotes learning and institutional exchanges around key themes for the sector.

Dynamism of national and regional markets present new challenges for microfinance institutions (MFIs). There is a need to incorporate new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This technology will foster the majority of a range of products and services to low-income populations as well as promote innovation for competitiveness.

Debbie’s presentation and contributions to the panel discussion was part of a 2-hour session entitled “Capacity Building for Competitiveness and Market Expansion”, during which she will be providing practical real-world examples of branchless and mobile banking in a number of countries worldwide, and discussing how MFIs in Central America can increase outreach and efficiency by leveraging mobile technology.

For more information and enquiries about Fern Software, please visit www.fernsoftware.com or email info@fernsoftware.com