Synthesis of Conference Evaluations: Structure and Design of Conference, Barriers to Rural Finance and Furthering the Dialogue

The conference was attended by 400 representatives from 50 countries. The organizers designed a consultative group work ethic for the gathering. This involved conference calls, emails and a website. A questionnaire evaluated this efficiently organized conference. Using the survey as a base, the representatives were classified on:

• Specialization in rural finance;
• Profile and position;
• Organizations;
• Motivation and expectations of the conference;
• Importance given to plenary and breakout topics;
• Attendance.

The participants listed a number of ways to improve future events and also the areas where attention was needed. These were:

• Agricultural issues;
• Governance;
• Private bank involvement in rural finance;
• Donor funding for projects and post donor impact.

The participants identified barriers to successful rural finance as:

• Incomplete understanding of the rural financial economy;
• Misaligned policy design;
• Government and donor interventions;
• Weak agribusines;
• Unsupportive legal and regulatory framework;
• Banks that consider rural finance too risky and expensive.

The conference concluded with the following:

• The agribusiness sector has a large informal field;
• Records and tools should be kept for future initiatives;
• The rural sector should be treated independently;
• Donor coordination is essential;
• Rural finance policy design process should be reconsidered.