Wayne Silby,
Co-Chairman, Calvert Foundation; Founding Chair, Calvert Social Funds
John Simon,
Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development
Peter Tropper,
Principal Fund Specialist, Private Equity Department, International Finance Corp.
Hubertus van der Vaart,
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF)
Troy Wiseman,
Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, TriLinc Global
Moderator:
Betsy Zeidman, Research Fellow and Director of the Center for Emerging Domestic Markets, Milken Institute
Entrepreneurs across the world depend on patient risk capital to establish and expand their businesses. In developing countries, however, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often lack access to such funds, partly due to the difficulty investors face in exiting their investments. As a result, fewer SMEs are started, their growth is stunted, and countries fail to benefit from their collateral benefits, such as job creation and economic growth. In February 2009, the Milken Institute gathered fund managers, investors, entrepreneurs and other experts to explore potential solutions in a Financial Innovations Lab. This roundtable followed up on the Lab's discussions and allowed participants to explore next steps. Specifically, participants discussed how to implement innovative solutions, such as an exit finance facility; leverage networks to identify deals and scale up capital to where it is needed most; and align investments with investor interests.
Global Conference 2013
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, philanthropist Bill Gates and Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless discuss advancing prosperity in Africa.
