| CERMi RESEARCH DAYS 2026 Microfinance, Financial Inclusion and Social Finance: Challenges and Future Directions 24–25 November 2026 Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium |
Venue
ULB, Usquare Campus
227, Avenue de la Couronne – 1050 Brussels
Building A, room A.1.23 (OpenLab – Mess)
Conference format
30 minutes per paper: 15 minutes presentation, 10 minutes discussion and 5 minutes Q&A.
Tuesday, 24 November 2026
08.30 – 09.00: Registration and welcome of participants
09.00 – 09.15: Opening remarks by Hubert Tchakoute Tchuigoua (ULB)
09.15 – 11.00: SESSION 1: Rethinking Sustainable Development: Social Enterprises, Climate-Smart Agriculture, and Microfinance
Chairperson: Armande Mahabi (Catholic University of Bukavu)
09.15 – 09.45: Strategic Missions of Social Enterprises: Institutional Theory and Evidence from Europe vs. the United States.
Presenter: Samuel Anokye Nyarko (Montpellier Business School)
Authors: Anastasia Cozarenco, Thi Minh Ngoc Nguyen, Samuel Anokye Nyarko, Ariane Szafarz
Discussant: Roy Mersland (University of Agder)
09.45 – 10.15: Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Consumption in East: Africa: Heterogeneity by Financial Access.
Presenter and author: John Kamau (University of Agder)
Discussant: Eddy Balemba (Catholic University of Bukavu)
10.15 – 10.45: Social Performance Ratings in Microfinance: A Study on Persistence and Determinants
Presenter and author: Timo Leeser (KU Leuven)
Discussant: Marek Hudon (ULB)
11.00 – 11.15: Coffee break
11.15 – 12.45: SESSION 2: Sustainable Finance, Institutional Resilience, and the Just Transition
Chairperson: Knar Khachatryan (American University of Armenia)
11.15 – 11.45: Institutional Exposure to Violence and the Spillover: Effects on Financial Outcomes in Mexico.
Presenter and author: Lucia Dalla Pellegrina (DEMS University of Milano-Bicocca)
Discussant: Bert D’Espallier (KU Leuven)
11.45-12.15: Do Loan Portfolios Follow Membership? Evidence on Gender Composition and Lending from Ugandan SACCOs
Presenter: Vernon John Kikabi (University of Agder)
Authors: Vernon John Kikabi, Kjetil Andersson, Bert D’Espallier, Roy Mersland
Discussant: Anastasia Cozarenco (Montpellier Business School)
12.15-12.45: Just Transition
Presenter: Davide Forcella (JuST Institute)
12.45 – 14.00: Lunch: OpenLab rooms (Usquare Campus, Building A)
14.00 – 15.30: SESSION 3: ROUNDTABLE: Future Directions in Microfinance, Financial Inclusion and Social Finance Research
Chairperson: Hubert Tchakoute Tchuigoua (ULB)
Panelists: Béatriz Armendariz de Aghion (University College London); Roy Mersland (University of Agder); Jonathan Morduch (New York University); Ariane Szafarz (ULB)
15.30 – 16.00: Coffee break
16.00 – 17.30: SESSION 4: Microfinance in the South: Navigating Crisis
Chairpersons: Cécile Godfroid (UMONS) & Eddy Balemba (Catholic University of Bukavu)
16.00-16.30: Reconstructing repayment capacity under conflict: Evidence from women microfinance borrowers.
Presenter: Nzanzu Y’Ise Kivalya (Catholic University of Bukavu)
Authors: Cécile Godfroid, Jenny Lubambo Salende and Eddy Balemba Kanyurhi
Discussant: Samuel Nyarko (Montpellier Business School)
16.30-17.00: Sustaining Financial Service Delivery during Extreme Crises: The Role of Digital Finance in Microfinance Institutions.
Presenter: Patrick Muhrula (Catholic University of Bukavu)
Authors: Eddy Balemba, Cécile Godfroid and Marc Labie
Discussant: Lucia Dalla Pellegrina (DEMS University of Milano-Bicocca)
17.00-17.30: Adapting human resource management in conflict-affected environments: evidence from microfinance institutions.
Presenter: Armande Mahabi Nabami (Catholic University of Bukavu)
Authors: Eddy Balemba, Cécile Godfroid, Rolande Iragi and Patrick Cubaka Murhula
Discussant: Davide Forcella (Just Institute)
17.30 – 19.00: Break
19.00 – 22.00: Conference dinner and celebration
Venue: Mess Restaurant – Boulevard Louis Schmidt 1, 1040 Etterbeek, Brussels
Getting there: approximately 10–15 minutes on foot from U-Square, or two tram stops (Arsenal, tram lines 7/25).
Wednesday 25th November
08.30 – 09.00: Welcome coffee
09.00 – 11.00: SESSION 5: Gender, Women’s Empowerment and Inclusive Finance.
Chairperson: Patrick Muhrula (Catholic University of Bukavu)
09.00 – 09.30: Do Female Loan Officers Mitigate Social-Financial Trade-offs in Social Lending?
Presenter: Anastasia Cozarenco (Montpellier Business School)
Authors: Moez Bennouri, Samuel Anokye Nyarko and Naome Otiti
Discussant: Patrick Reichert (IMD Business School)
09.30-10.00: Beyond Financial Inclusion: Conditions for Women’s Community-Level Decision-Making in Village Savings and Loan Associations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Presenter and author: Linda Adoba (University of Agder)
Discussant: Marc Labie (UMONS)
10.00-10.30: Gender aspect of microfinance performance: Does the country-level institutional context matter?
Presenter and author: Knar Khachatryan (American University of Armenia)
Discussant: Béatriz Armendariz de Aghion (University College London)
10.30-11.00: Who Invests in Blended Finance? Evidence on Investor Composition and Capital Mobilization.
Presenter and author: Patrick Reichert (IMD Business School)
Discussant: Knar Khachatryan (American University of Armenia)
11.00 – 11.45: Concluding remarks by Marc Labie & Marek Hudon