FCC club lunch with Roy JACOBOWITZ

Speaker: Roy JACOBOWITZ
Managing Director, External Affairs
ACCION International

Topic: International microfinance networks in China: can they get it right?

Roy JACOBOWITZ will speak about the current efforts and challenges involved in bringing financial services to China’s poor. Despite a strong entrepreneurial tradition, only 30 percent of China’s population has formal access to credit. While there has been a remarkable increase in per capita income in the last two decades, the World Bank estimates that there are still 300 million Chinese living in poverty. The Chinese government has chosen microfinance as a key strategy for combating poverty.

Mr. JACOBOWITZ will discuss the work of ACCION International, a global leader in microfinance. ACCION’s long-term strategy in China is to create a profitable and replicable commercial microfinance model that can serve as a show case for both the government and private investors. ACCION is in the process of launching a microfinance institution in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, and has established operations in Beijing, where it will begin to train a new generation of microfinance professionals.

Mr. JACOBOWITZ, who currently serves as ACCION’s Managing Director for External Affairs, joined ACCION International in 1994, and became a member of its senior management team in 1998. He is responsible for ACCION’s marketing, communications, and resource development, and collaborates with ACCION’s Global Programs and Investments groups to generate strategic partnerships for innovation. He has 25 years of experience as a nonprofit executive, including work with organizations in Boston and San Francisco serving at-risk youth. Mr. JACOBOWITZ holds a B.A. in Russian & European Studies from Yale University.