Brussels, April 22nd, 2023 – The European Microfinance Network (EMN) held its board meeting in Brussels last week, on April 15th, marking a significant leadership transition as Laure Coussirat-Coustére concluded her tenure as EMN President. The board is pleased to announce the appointment of Stefan Buciuc, CEO of BCR Social Finance from Romania, as the new President.
In his inaugural message, Stefan expressed a profound sense of responsibility and urgency regarding the challenges facing microfinance in Europe.
“Taking on the presidency of the European Microfinance Network fills me with both pride and a sense of urgency. Nearly 95 million people in the European Union live at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Behind that number are individuals with talent, determination, and ideas — held back not by lack of ambition, but by lack of access. Microfinance exists to break that barrier. It is not a safety net; it is a springboard. And as I take on this role, I am determined that our sector steps up to match the scale of the challenge before us — including the profound transformation that artificial intelligence is already bringing to every corner of our economies.
The EU has set out bold commitments through the European Pillar of Social Rights, yet the financing gap for the most vulnerable entrepreneurs remains stubbornly wide. At the same time, the AI revolution is reshaping labour markets at speed, displacing jobs, creating new ones, and — if we are not deliberate — deepening existing inequalities. Those already on the margins are the most exposed. Microfinance providers must be at the forefront of this transition: helping excluded entrepreneurs adopt digital tools, access innovation, and compete in an economy that is changing faster than our policy frameworks can follow.
InvestEU and ESF+ have proven their worth, but we must be honest: the current level of ambition is not enough. We need more resources, faster deployment, and smarter design — instruments built for a 21st-century economy, applicable also for EU candidate countries. Not the ones we had a decade ago. EMN will not be a passive observer in Brussels. We will advocate loudly, with data and with conviction, for a policy environment that treats financial inclusion and economic competitiveness as two sides of the same coin.
The negotiation of the next Multiannual Financial Framework is our defining moment. Europe faces a stark choice: invest seriously in the people and communities left furthest behind, or risk deepening the fractures that already threaten our social and economic fabric. In a world where AI and technological innovation are concentrating wealth and opportunity at the top, the MFF must be an instrument of rebalancing — placing microfinance at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness agenda, not at its margins.
I call on EU institutions and Member States to commit to dedicated, ring-fenced funding, reduced bureaucratic barriers, and a long-term vision that empowers millions of people to build their own economic future. Because a Europe that is innovative and competitive but leaves a third of its people behind is not a success — it is a failure. The European Microfinance Network is ready to lead that fight.”
As part of the leadership changes, Lorraine de Fierlant, General Director at Microstart (Belgium), has been appointed as the new Vice-President of the board alongside with Emanuele Cabras (Coopfin, Italy), and Alexandre Nayme, responsible for BNP Paribas Inclusive Finance in Europe and Africa, joins as a board member.
The EMN remains committed to taking an active stance in advocating for financial inclusion and social equity within the European framework. Stefan’s passionate call to action sets the tone for a concerted effort to ensure that microfinance is not relegated to the periphery but is integrated at the core of Europe’s competitive agenda.
The European Microfinance Network is dedicated to leading the fight for an inclusive economic future, ensuring that the needs of all entrepreneurs, particularly the most vulnerable, are met with urgency and conviction.