L. Jan Slikkerveer is Professor in Ethnoscience and Development and Director of the Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Program (LEAD) of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University, The Netherlands. He has conducted several policy-based studies on local-global interaction processes of knowledge and technology in various sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and the Mediterranean region. Recently he designed - together with UNPAD, MAICH, MTF and Gema PKM -  a successful Master Course on Integrated Microfinance Management for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment in Indonesia (IMM) at the Faculty of Economics and Business of Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, based on a bottom-up approach to attain sustainable community development. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and books, and has so far supervised 10 PhD's at Leiden University. George Baourakis is the Director of CIHEAM-MAICh, a constituent post-graduate institute of the InternationalCentre of Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM-Paris), located in Chania, Crete, Greece. Since 1989, George Baourakis is the Studies and Research Coordinator of the Business Economics and Management Department of CIHEAM-MAICh. He demonstrates vast experience in the management and coordination of research and educational projects in the EU, North America, Australia and Asia. He is an Affiliate Professor in Marketing and Supply Chain Management of the Centre of Entrepreneurship, Nijenrode University, The Netherlands Business School. He has also been appointed Distinguished Research Fellow in Food Marketing-Management at several universities. Kurniawan Saefullah is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business of Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. He received his MSc Degree from the International Islamic University in Malaysia and is currently finalising his PhD research on the concept of IMM with special attention to the local cosmology and institutions in Subang, West Java at Leiden University. He is also Senior Lecturer in the Master course on Integrated Microfinance Management for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment in Indonesia (IMM) at the Faculty of Economics and Business of Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia.