Watch SIFTA Webinar: MFI good practice in financing social economy: TISE, Poland and AFIN, Romania

7 June 2023

11:00 - 13:00

Online

The social enterprises cover a variety of businesses, organizations, and different legal entities. They represent a successful business model with financial needs to address their business strategy. At the same time, they share the objective of systematically putting people first, producing a positive impact on local communities and pursuing a social cause. Social economy enterprises contribute to employment, social cohesion, regional and rural development, environmental protection, consumer protection, agricultural third countries development, and social security policies.

The webinar will inspire microfinance providers to diversify their products and services, with an offer to social enterprises. It will provide opportunity to learn from two organizations, TISE from Poland and AFIN from Romania, about their experience supporting the development of the social enterprises in their countries, regulatory environment, characteristics of business model, available financial instruments for the sector, identifying the leading factors to succeed, sharing, and exchanging on challenges and barriers, and indicating way forward.

The webinar targets microfinance and social economy finance providers to get a better understanding of the social economy sector and explore future opportunities to expand their businesses.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

Our Experts

Katarzyna Duber – Stachurska

Vice President of the Management Board, TISE

Better just Kasia, being much simpler and shorter. Banker by education and profession, socially involved by well-reasoned choice, I have been working for the Polish social economy sector for almost 4 years now, trying to combine both attitudes and worlds, not without difficulties. Social economy and microfinance in Poland are work in progress and challenging adventure, but I am still confident about TISE and my mission in it.

Felicia Relenschi

Chief Executive Officer at AFIN

Felicia Relenschi is a manager and business consultant with over 15 years of experience in the field of financial services. She has held management positions both within non-banking and banking financial institutions (General Manager Motoractive IFN SA – GE MONEY Romania, Executive Director Patria Credit IFN SA and later Patria Bank SA).

Throughout her career, Felicia has coordinated numerous projects in various fields of activity (microfinancing, agrofinancing, leasing), developing a strategic vision on the impact that funding can have on entrepreneurs, innovation and technological development, and on the social
impact of financing.

Currently she is General Manager of AFIN – ALTERNATIVE FINANCING IFN and she would like, using her previous experience, to contribute to the development of the first financial institution in Romania, built by social entrepreneurs for social entrepreneurs, and to get involved in more
social economy projects.

Felicia Relenschi graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest and holds an MBA in banking and finance from the University of Birmingham, the UK.

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