Event description:
For more than 20 years, the Alterna Savings Community Microfinance Program has focused on making its small-dollar loans available to women, BIPOC, new and racialized Canadians, and low-income individuals. In this Co-op Conversation, Susan Henry, Alterna Savings’ Director of Community Impact & Financial Inclusion, talks about how Alterna Savings is realizing on the co-operative values of equity, equality and solidarity by making available opportunities for financial independence by reducing barriers to banking for those often excluded from mainstream financial institutions. As part of her talk, Susan will dig into the impact of Alterna’s Community Microfinance Program at the individual, corporate, and broader societal levels and share how lessons learned from the program are helping shape the development of new lending programs for underserved communities.
Speaker biography:
Susan Henry is Director of Community Impact & Financial Inclusion at Alterna Savings. Susan has over 25 years of experience working with underserved, under-represented individuals and communities. She was instrumental in leading the launch of Alterna Savings’ award-winning Community Microfinance Program. In her role at Alterna, Susan is responsible for the strategic direction of Alterna’s Community Impact Department which includes oversight of the portfolio in affordable housing, non-profits, and the charitable sector, the Community Microfinance Program, Financial Literacy and Granting Programs.
