| This experiential learning course will explore the history and latest innovations in financial inclusion, which has evolved as an industry from microfinance. We will examine financial inclusion from different levels (government, suppliers, consumers), different market segments (women, youth, refugees, entrepreneurs) and across many different country contexts to demonstrate that there is no ‘one-size fits all solution’. Students will gain skills at analyzing the financial diaries of low-income households in the U.S. and in developing countries, conducting field work to evaluate the formal and informal financial landscape in Charlottesville, and an entrepreneurship program at a local non-profit, designing client-centric solutions in response to the financial needs at the household and community level, analyzing data and case studies to develop policy recommendations, evaluating impact and the business case of financial inclusion while at the same time increasing their own personal financial literacy. |