Rick Ifland Examines Microfinance, Yunus

Rick Ifland, director of the Eaton Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Westmont, explores the challenges and effectiveness of microfinance both in the developed and developing worlds at a free, public lecture Thursday, Feb. 13, at 5:30 p.m. in the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. Tickets are not needed; the limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please call (805) 565-6051.

The lecture, “The Future of Microfinance and the Role of Muhammad Yunus,” is part of Westmont Downtown: Conversations about Things that Matter, which is sponsored by the Westmont Foundation. The talk relates to the Westmont President’s Breakfast on Feb. 28 that features Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient noted for promoting microfinance. At the breakfast, Yunus will speak about “Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism.” Tickets to the breakfast cost $125 per person and are for sale on the Westmont website, westmont.edu/presbreakfast.

Ifland, Westmont associate professor of economics and business, is a Westmont alumnus and successful entrepreneur. He studied international law, original economic theory and international distributive justice at Oxford University.

He will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the roles played by the United States and Europe in microfinance, the changing nature of democracy, and capitalism in developing countries, noting Yunus’ critical role in these areas.