About us
The LSESU Financial Inclusion Society (FIS), earlier known as the Microfinance Society which started in 2015, aims to empower the financially marginalised through financial inclusion. Financial inclusion refers to the process by which individuals and businesses can access sustainable, affordable, and timely financial services like credit, banking and insurance products. It is also a vital driver for responsible investing and impact consulting.
Today, when over 1.7 billion people across the world don’t have access to efficient credit lines, creating a financially inclusive world is a vital prerequisite towards achieving socio-economic empowerment and economic growth. According to the World Bank Group, financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler for 7 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The primary role of the LSE Financial Inclusion Society is to holistically analyse the various drivers of financial inclusion which include microfinance, microinsurance, financial technology and micro-entrepreneurship initiatives. To do this, we have collaborated and are planning to collaborate with leading microfinance institutions and NGOs across the world, including J-PAL, Rangde, DEKI, Manav Sadhna, LendWithCare, and Avanti Finance. We have conducted over 20 pro-bono consulting projects with such institutions. This year, the society is redesigning and restructuring its past research and consulting operations by launching the following core divisions/initiatives:
Yunus Club Division
A discussion group which regularly hosts leading academics, businesses (e.g. micro-lending companies, NBFCs, Investment Banks etc.), and NGOs to critically examine the different ways of improving financial inclusivity (e.g. microfinance).
Impact Consulting Division (ICD)
This division aims to promote microenterprises in developing and emerging markets by providing pro-bono consulting to leading NGOs, MFIs and social enterprises in these markets.
Special Events Division
This division will form the requisite network and connections with leading academics, fintech companies, social entrepreneurs and students from across the world to organise the Financial Inclusion Conference (FIC) in 2024. The aim of the conference will be to have an open debate about financially empowering marginalised communities.
Research Division
This division aims to conduct extensive research on the landscape of financial inclusion, the role of technology in financial inclusion and the risks associated with various financial inclusion initiatives. Final articles produced through this division are published on our own website.
Membership
Purchasing a membership to our society will give you access to all of our research publications, events, and consulting initiatives. As a member, you'll get the opportunity to not only broaden your knowledge about financial inclusion, but also make an impact in the microfinance and microinsurance community. The membership will also be needed to fill any roles we offer, including sub-committee roles in our research and consulting divisions.
Events and Activities
Over the course of the year, we will host a wide variety of events and initiatives including:
- The Crash Course on microinsurance and microfinance run by a former senior programme manager for the Aga Khan Agency.
- Regular Events through Yunus Club(Panel Discussions, Speaker Events, Socials, Case Studies)
- The opportunity to be a pro-bono consultant in our Impact Consulting Division.
- The opportunity to be a Research Analyst in our Research Division.
Contact Us
We are excited to welcome new members for the upcoming academic year. Please feel free to approach us by messaging any of our social media platforms. We will be posting information of our recruitment process for the consulting and research division. Please email us at financialinclusion@lsesu.org if you have any other queries.