The focus of this Symposium – on insights, inclusion and innovation – underpins this adaptability. Insights – identifying with microentreprenurs As effective policymakers and practitioners, we need to have deep insights of our clients on-theground: the microentrepreneurs. This obligation begins with the awareness that the needs, tradeoffs and circumstances of microentrepreneurs are unique. They face very different financial constraints and in turn, very different choice sets. Hence, effective microfinance design that appeals to microentrepreneurs’ needs will not only require a rooted understanding of whether they have been good paymasters, who their other financiers are and how they conduct business; 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  but also their specific background, problems and values. As we speak, predictive credit analytics are being developed using alternative data, such as psychometric assessments and other non-financial information. This may be particularly useful in the microsegment, where traditional data on creditworthiness are usually scarce. These insights can also be leveraged to design products that are tailored towards the distinct needs of microentrepreneurs. Improving user experience and confidence is equally important. Application procedures, user interfaces and operational processes should be simple and seamless. Most importantly, they should be appropriate to the circumstances of microborrowers for whom a loan may well be the first experience with a formal financial institution. How they perceive this experience can have longer term effects on the level of trust they place in financial institutions, and reinforce behaviours that will either encourage them to use financial services, or further distance them from the formal financial system.
He said this: “Where once the poor were commonly seen as passive victims, microfinance recognizes that poor people are remarkable reservoirs of energy and knowledge. And while the lack of financial services is a sign of poverty, today it is also understood as an untapped opportunity to create markets, bring people in from the margins and give them the tools with which to help themselves.” I believe we will continue to see massive changes in rapid bursts. In the process, the goal should be to help as many people as we can emerge stronger and more productive members of the human ecosystem. 3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches