Bernd Balkenhol is Professor for Microfinance and Financial Inclusion at the University of Geneva (Geneva School of Economics and Management). He is former Director of the Social Finance Program at the International Labor Organization (ILO) and senior policy advisor to the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar. He represented ILO at CGAP and the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, and coordinated the IV European Microfinance Research Conference in 2015 at the University of Geneva. He acquired his PhD at the University of Freiburg and an MA at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Medford, Mass.).