The EMA2025 Edition
The European Microfinance Award 2025 highlights organisations that enable low-income and vulnerable people to build resilience and manage risk thanks to inclusive and effective insurance.
By focusing on "Building Resilience Through Inclusive Insurance," this year's award addresses the urgent need for structured risk management among these populations, who face numerous economic, health, and climate-related challenges. Promoting inclusive insurance helps individuals recover from shocks, build long-term resilience, and achieve sustainable economic security.
Download the EMA2025 Concept Note & Guidelines below:
Why the European Microfinance Award
Convinced that financial inclusion is an important tool for poverty alleviation, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs launched the European Microfinance Award in 2005 to promote financial inclusion initiatives and highlight their innovating contribution in a particlar area, to the development of the sector. The European Microfinance Award serves two parallel goals: rewarding excellence, and collecting and disseminating the most relevant practices for replication by others.
Past Editions' THEMES
Since its launch in 2005, the European Microfinance Award covered many different topics such as:
- "Innovation for Outreach" in 2006,
- "Socially Responsible Microfinance" in 2008,
- "Value Chain Finance" in 2010,
- "Microfinance for Food Security" in 2012,
- "Microfinance and the Environment" in 2014,
- "Microfinance in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas and Fragiles States" in 2015,
- "Microfinance and Access to Education" in 2016,
- "Microfinance for Housing" in 2017,
- "Financial Inclusion through Technology" in 2018,
- “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change” in 2019,
- "Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings" in 2020,
- "Inclusive Finance and Helath Care" in 2021,
- "Financial Inclusion that Works for Women" in 2022
- "Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition" in 2023
- "Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees and Forcibly Displaced People" in 2024.
The Organizers
The Award and prize money (of €100,000 for the winner and €10,000 for each runner-up) are granted by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; the competition and award ceremony are jointly organised by the Ministry, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu).