Microfinance and Financial Inclusion

The Institute will be offering a course on “Microfinance and Financial Inclusion” taught by Adam Grenier. Microfinance is a powerful tool in the anti-poverty toolkit to help people in challenging economic conditions have a more prosperous life. In this course, we address how small improvements can be made and take a comprehensive look at microfinance and its impact on people and societies. After forming a solid understanding of the various solutions offered under the microfinance umbrella (credit, savings, insurance), we examine opportunities for domestic and international microfinance initiatives. Students actively participate in the microfinance experience by lending to an actual business owner of their choice, analyzing real-time case studies from around the globe, and interacting with Boston-area microfinance professionals and beneficiaries. Additionally, in partnership with the nonprofit Human Connections, the instructor leads an optional experiential learning trip to Latin America to complement the classroom curriculum and bring you closer to the realities of microfinance. Grenier lived and worked in Sierra Leone in 2008 as a Fellow with Kiva.org. Over the past nine years, he has traveled to Colombia, Mongolia, Mexico, and Ecuador – the latter two with Tufts students as part of the Global Engagement Trip program - to continue his research in microfinance in an effort to bridge the academic with real world lessons. Grenier is also a Certified Financial Planner with Fidelity Investments.