In June, The G-20 Toronto Summit discussed 9 principles for innovative financial inclusion with mobile being a key to the ICT efforts.  With the growing adoption of mobile money in Kenya and other emerging markets, health, farming, clean technology, remittances, and micro-credit are now beginning to leverage this new financial system that addresses the unbanked 5+ billion people.  mPay... [read more]

In June, The G-20 Toronto Summit discussed 9 principles for innovative financial inclusion with mobile being a key to the ICT efforts.  With the growing adoption of mobile money in Kenya and other emerging markets, health, farming, clean technology, remittances, and micro-credit are now beginning to leverage this new financial system that addresses the unbanked 5+ billion people.  mPay Connect invites you to join us for our 4th Mobile Payments Series Event in San Francisco at The Hub where we recap some of the discussions that took place at the recent State Department Tech@State event and learn how mobile money will be used as a tool to tackle some of the biggest problems around the globe. Menekse Gencer of mPay Connect Consulting will kick off the event by presenting the opportunities to use mobile money for food security and mHealth.  She will be joined by our esteemed panelists as they discuss the use of mobile money for clean tech, remittances, and microfinance. As an added bonus, you will be able to see actual mobile money systems from around the globe. We travelled the world to sign up for these mobile payments systems so that you don’t have to! What:     Mobile Payments Series™ Event #4 – Around the World in 80 Minutes When:    September 13th 7:00pm to 9:00pm Where:   The Hub - San Francisco, 901 Mission Street, Suite 105  http://bayarea.the-hub.net/public/ Register:   Early Bird tickets in August are $49.  Tickets sold in September are $69.  No tickets will be sold at the door, so please purchase in advance. Note: Our last three events were sold out in advance, so please don’t wait too long to register.    Our Panelists include: Matt Flannery:  Co-Founder & CEO, Kiva.org Matt began developing Kiva in late 2004 as a side-project with while working as a computer programmer at TiVo, Inc. In December 2005 Matt left his job to devote himself to Kiva full-time. As CEO, Matt has led Kiva's growth from a pilot project to an established online service with partnerships across the globe and millions in dollars loaned to low income entrepreneurs. Matt is a Draper Richards Fellow, Skoll Awardee and Ashoka Fellow. He graduated with a BS in Symbolic Systems and a Masters in Philosophy from Stanford University. Elizabeth Berthe: Director of Mobile Financial Services, Grameen Foundation Combining the power of microfinance and mobile technology, Elizabeth leads Grameen’s efforts to transform the microfinance sector through Mobile Financial Services for the Grameen Foundation Technology Center. Grameen  just recently won at the Marketplace for Innovative Financial Solutions for Development for its work in the Mobile Money space in Kenya.  Prior to Grameen, she worked in various roles in corporate finance, strategic planning, negotiations and consulting in the U.S., China and France. She holds a Master’s in International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management and a B.A in marketing from USC. She is a member of the advisory council for Youth Assets, a non-profit empowering disadvantaged youth with information through technology in Swaziland and is a founding member and serves as the co-chair for Women Advancing Microfinance--Pacific Northwest Chapter.   Ben Lyon: CEO, Frontline SMS: Credit   Benjamin Lyon graduated from Rhodes College with a B.A. in Economics and International Studies, where he specialized in microfinance and informal economics. Upon graduating, Ben formed CreditSMS, an open source software development group committed to leveraging technology to expand financial inclusion in emerging markets. CreditSMS officially became FrontlineSMS:Credit on October 10th, 2009. Today, Ben and his colleagues are designing a suite of open source software tools to bring formal financial services to the entrepreneurial poor in 160 characters or less.  FrontlineSMS:Credit is a winner of the 2010 Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project and Ben was selected as a 2010 Unreasonable Institute Fellow.   Bill Barhydt:  CEO, m-Via Mr. Bill Barhydt is CEO of m-Via, the first U.S.-based international mobile money transfer service that enables migrant workers and their families to send and receive funds and promote financial inclusion via their mobile phones. Mr. Barhydt is a well known technology visionary who is involved as an investor and advisor in many technology and media start-ups. In 2000, the World Economic Forum recognized Mr. Barhydt with the Technology Pioneer award for his work in Internet technologies and group communications. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Barhydt has worked with organizations including NASA and the CIA, as well as Netscape, where he was Technical Director. Mike MacHarg:  Co-Founder, Simpa Networks Michael is a Co-Founder of Simpa Networks, a ICT social enterprise developing a hardware, software & service model that makes clean energy choices “radically affordable” to the 1.6 billion Base of the Pyramid (BoP) consumers who currently lack access to electricity.  Launching first in India, Simpa is introducing the “Progressive Purchase” pricing model, allowing BoP consumers to pay-as-they-go while actually purchasing high quality solar home systems and devices.  Simpa leverages new and efficient distribution channels for mobile money transfer so consumers can make small payments towards their solar home systems via a mobile phone.  We help our customers switch away from the expensive fuel-based lighting and energy systems that are currently costing up to 30% of their income.  The business model is disruptive and highly scalable, reimagining the value chain for delivering energy access at the base of the economic pyramid.  Michael has recently served as a consultant to Arc Finance, focused on the intersection of clean energy, microfinance and micropayment technologies.  Previously, Michael was a founding staff member of the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company, the Institute for OneWorld Health, and spent his early career with the Social Development Department of the World Bank.  Michael is a graduate of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and Vanderbilt University.   Menekse Gencer:  CEO, mPay Connect Consulting Menekse Gencer founded mPay Connect, a consulting service for clients seeking to launch mobile payments.  mPay Connect consulting service advises banks, mobile network operators, development agencies, and third parties on go-to-market-strategy, regulatory policy, product design, and business development.  She also consults with clients in industries such as mHealth, Agriculture, and Clean Technology on how to leverage mobile payments for their efforts.  Her market expertise extends from North America to emerging markets such as Bangladesh, The Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to founding mPay Connect, Menekse led PayPal Mobile’s Business Development efforts in North America for two years during which time she closed PayPal’s first mobile network operator deal to launch PayPal Send Money on Sprint. Menekse has an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Macroeconomics from Harvard University and was previously featured on the cover of Fortune Small Business Magazine for her innovative startup in emerging technology. She is the founder of the Mobile Payments Series(TM) initiative which hosts panel discussions and networking events for professionals in the mobile money industry and has over 460 members in her LinkedIn Group: Mobile Payments Series – mPay Connect.  She is a recognized expert in this field and lectures on mobile money at events for Harvard Business School, Wharton MBA, MIT, and Columbia Business School.  She participates in the World Economic Forum and The State Department around Mobile Finance and Economic Development and is a frequent guest speaker at mobile money conferences globally.  She advises startups, angel investors, venture capitalists, and hedge funds on the mobile money industry and has 17 years of experience as a consultant and industry leader in high tech, mobile, and financial services.   Fasten your seat belt and join us for the world tour!