Archive for October, 2008

Posted on October 31, 2008 - by lincolnw

Microfinance draws interest

With a huge base of borrowers and emphasis on timely repayments, microfinance is relatively insulated from defaults…

Posted on October 31, 2008 - by lincolnw

Microfinance: Global Partnerships’ splendid torch

In a season of inane political commercials and Wall Street bailouts, I have sought out the perfect tonic for the cynicism overwhelming my civic sensibilities.

I am drawn to the illumination from a splendid torch held aloft by Global Partnerships, a Seattle charity with a record of innovation and success in combating poverty. George Bernard Shaw’s words were invoked during a luncheon this week where 1,200 celebrants gathered to honor the empowering work launched by Bill and Paula Clapp…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 31, 2008 - by lincolnw

MicroRate Publishes Public Ratings of Microfinance Institutions Conducted Between January and September 2008

Forprofit microfinance rating company MicroRate has announced the completion of the following public microfinance institution ratings between January 2008 and September 2008:

SOCIAL RATINGS

D-MIRO – Ecuador – 3
ProMujer Nicaragua – Nicaragua – 3.5

PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Alide – Benin – gamma+
AMC – El Salvador – beta+
Caja Trujillo – Perú – alpha-
CAPA – Romania – beta+
CMAC Arequipa – Perú -alpha-
Confianza – Perú – beta+
CRAC Los Andes – Perú – beta
Crear Arequipa – Perú – alpha
Crear Tacna – Perú – alpha-
D-MIRO – Ecuador – beta+
ENDA – Tunisia – alpha-
Fie Gran Poder – Argentina – beta-
Finca México – Mexico – alpha-
Fincomun – Mexico – beta
Friendship Bridge – Guatemala – beta+
Fundeser – Nicaragua – alpha-
{click this link to see the complete ratings}

Posted on October 31, 2008 - by lincolnw

Nigeria: Microfinance Inter-Bank Money Market Takes Off

There are strong indications that the proposed Microfinance Inter-bank money market will take off by the end of this year.

It would be recalled that Financial Vanguard exclusively reported that some Microfinance Banks in the country have commenced moves to set up an inter-bank money market for the sub-sector.ket includes the five discount houses.

However, other financial institutions like micro-finance banks and primary mortgage institutions (PMIs) cannot participate in the market because they do not have direct access to the clearing house of the Central Bank of Nigeria hence the decision of microfinance banks to create their own inter-bank money market…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 31, 2008 - by lincolnw

Microfinance Empowering Egyptian Women

Dr. Lee emphasized that he was not a historian and that he preferred to take an “anti-chronological” approach and explore the ideologies and central issues then apply it to history…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 29, 2008 - by lincolnw

Cambodia:First credit bureau slated to open

With the rapid expansion of public borrowing and the global credit crisis threatening banks around the world, regulators are planning Cambodia’s first credit bureau to link the country into a national financial database.  Authorities hope the new system will bring the country’s fast-growing borrowing into the regulatory fold and protect the market from runaway debt.  The system would record personal financial information and allow institutions to assess personal credit risk, said the International Finance Corp (IFC)…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 29, 2008 - by lincolnw

Grameen Trust moves into Mexico with Carlos Slim Foundation

Today, Grameen Trust, international affiliation of Grameen Bank and Fundación Carlos Slim AC, announced the new alliance Grameen-Carso which will donate micro credits to the neediest people in Mexico.  Grameen Trust and Fundación Carlos Slim will have equal investments in this alliance and will start operating in areas with higher rate of poverty in Mexico.

Fundación Carlos Slim will provide an initial assets of 5 million dollars and guarantee other 40 million dollars for credit lines of this strategic alliance. Grameen Trust will be the manager of this alliance with experienced people in micro credits brought from Grameen Back.  In the long run, Green’s managers will capacitate local managers in order to be in charge of procedures in Mexico.

Grameen-Carso will confer micro credit lines with lower interest rates than other micro credit suppliers in Mexico.  This project will be a social company; all the profits will be re-invested in order to increase its operations…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 29, 2008 - by lincolnw

Global Economy Tests African Microcredit Channels

Amid growing signs that the global economy is worsening, the White House yesterday extended an invitation to developing countries to attend a summit next month in Washington with leaders of the world’s wealthy economies.Faced with rising food and fuel prices, some of Africa’s poorest nations are struggling to lower earlier projections of economic growth by focusing on how to satisfy the basic day-to-day needs of their citizens. One avenue for attracting investment needed to keep capital flowing in to local African businesses and public works is the practice of microfinance, or supplying credit to the poor at agreed-to, flexible rates which they can afford to pay back in an acceptable time frame.But the director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Sam Daley-Harris says that tightening pressures are being felt even in low-end borrowing circles and that such small but essential programs that can make a difference for Africans facing dire poverty are also feeling the effects of the global financial pinch…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by lincolnw

Schwab Charitable Reports Increased Granting Despite Credit Crisis

SAN FRANCISCO (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) October 21, 2008 — Schwab Charitable, one of the country’s largest and fastest growing national donor-advised funds with 12,000 donors and nearly $2 billion in assets, announced today that grants to charities during the third quarter of 2008 were up 12 percent from 2007 levels. The increased giving, which comes as turmoil on Wall Street has cut contributions to nonprofits nationwide, demonstrates one of the most compelling features of donor-advised funds—namely their capacity to pool charitable assets and create “charitable reserves” that can be tapped during economic downturns.

“During good times, our donors have set aside significant charitable dollars, and now are able to tap those funds when they are needed most,” said Schwab Charitable President Kim Wright-Violich. “It demonstrates how donor-advised funds can help people go beyond ‘checkbook charity’ and become more strategic citizen philanthropists.”{Click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by lincolnw

Hilton Humanitarian Prize Of $1.5 Million Goes To Bangladeshi NGO

The world’s biggest humanitarian prize has been awarded to BRAC, the largest non-profit organization in the developing world. The 2008 Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million honors BRAC, a Bangladeshi-based NGO, for its achievements in helping to eradicate poverty in nine Asian and African countries. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva where the award was announced.
Founder of BRAC, Fazle Hasan Abed, said he is particularly honored to receive the Hilton Humanitarian Prize on the International Day to Eradicate Poverty, a day to remember the billions of people living in extreme poverty. He said he and his organization have worked for 36 years for the alleviation of poverty…{click this link to read the rest of this article}

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by lincolnw

MIV Survey 2008 – High growth and improving returns for microfinance funds

WASHINGTON, DC. October 3, 2008 – Microfinance, with its focus on providing financial services to the world poor is increasingly of interest to socially responsible investors. Contrary to sub-prime, microfinance is a low credit risk, high transaction cost business with robust earning records.

Microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) are private investment funds that play an increasingly important financial intermediation role between foreign investors and microfinance institutions (MFIs). A new CGAP survey looks at evolving opportunities in microfinance for the investor community…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 24, 2008 - by lincolnw

Upcoming Event: European Microfinance Week, Nov. 14

European Microfinance Week 2008 will be held in Luxembourg 12th – 14th November. The theme for this year’s meeting is ‘Frontier Issues in Microfinance – opportunities and challenges for European actors‘. We are requesting members to propose topics in addition to coordinators and speakers for the different sessions. Preference will be given to workshops that emphasise collaboration between e-MFP members and speakers from developing countries…{click this link to read more about this event}

Posted on October 24, 2008 - by lincolnw

Microfinance investor institutions signed on to the Client Protection Principles

The following 34 microfinance investor institutions have signed on to the Client Protection Principles, a microfinance industry-wide initiative that encourages providers to ensure that low-income clients are treated fairly and protected from potentially harmful financial products. The Principles are distilled from the path-breaking work of microfinance institutions, international networks and national microfinance associations to develop pro-consumer codes of conduct and practices. While there is little evidence of substantial problems with regard to clients in the microfinance sector, these Principles represent a proactive effort to define minimum standards to safeguard the interests of vulnerable clients.

These early signatories have committed to a process to translate the Principles into standards, policies, and practices appropriate for different types of microfinance clients, products, providers, and country contexts. By doing so, these institutions commit to incorporate the Principles into their investment selection and oversight processes. While it is microfinance providers themselves that are in a position to apply the Principles, investors can encourage compliance and provide positive incentives…{click this link to read the rest of this article}

Posted on October 24, 2008 - by lincolnw

Opportunity International Launches OptINnow(TM)

OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct 21, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Opportunity International, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing microfinance organizations, today announced the launch of OptINnow(TM), a new initiative in the fight against global poverty. OptINnow connects people who want to make a difference with the working poor around the world who need small business loans to lift themselves out of poverty…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 24, 2008 - by lincolnw

Remittances to Latin America Decline as Global Economy Sours

The amount of money sent home to families in Latin American countries by relatives living abroad is projected to grow by its slowest rate on record this year, according to a report to be released today by the Washington bank that tracks such transfers.

A slowdown would not only potentially exacerbate poverty in home countries but is also an indication of the economic troubles facing Latin American immigrants in the United States and elsewhere, according to the Inter-American Development Bank…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 22, 2008 - by lincolnw

Indonesia: Making a difference through microfinance

Brave, strong, independent and steadfast are the first impressions one has of 50 year-old Nasriah.She is one of many tsunami-affected women in Aceh who serve as the head of their families and are the sole income earners.

Every morning she walks more than a mile from her house in Blang Krueng village to the Krueng Aceh River. After harvesting oysters, she shucks them and prepares them to be sold at the market. Nasriah, a mother of six, lost her husband and two of her children to the 2004 tsunami. She began gathering and selling oysters after the disaster to support her remaining family.She had little help, meager resources and no access to a boat, making this already arduous work even more difficult…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 22, 2008 - by lincolnw

China Emphasizes Microcredit Expansion Again

BEIJING, October 21, SinoCast — The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, has recently encouraged some commercial banks to devote themselves to supporting the microfinance and financing schemes of the domestic SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

Several days ago, Wen Jiabao, premier of the State Council, emphasized that the nation should further improve the microcredit guarantee system, stimulate more financial institutions to microfinance, broaden SMEs’ direct financing channels, as well as finance the technical innovation of SMEs in the fourth quarter of 2008 and even the near future…{click this link to read the rest of this article}

Posted on October 22, 2008 - by lincolnw

Andean countries boast best business climate for microfinance, according to index

ASUNCION, Paraguay – Peru has the best business conditions for microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the results of the Microscope index presented today by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The EIU, a specialized service of the prestigious magazine The Economist, developed the Microscope index last year with support from the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and CAF. The index consists of a scorecard that weighs factors such as the investment climate, the development of public institutions and the regulatory frameworks for microfinance in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The results of this year’s study, which was broadened to include more countries and deepened to survey more experts and practitioners, were discussed at the Microenterprise Forum organized by the MIF and the Paraguayan government, October 8-10…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on October 21, 2008 - by James

Muhammad Yunus on the Financial Crisis…

A Nobel Prize-winning academic turned micro-finance banker for the poor has important advice for Washington. Muhammad Yunus believes that the government bailout of the banking system is but the first step in redesigning the global credit system. In the end, Yunus believes that a new self-correcting market system will have to be created.

In 1983, Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and ushered in the era of micro-finance andsocial entrepreneurship. By offering tiny amounts of credit to poor people, mostly women, to finance small businesses, he contradicted the established banking norms of the day. As a consequence, he received an unrelenting barrage of criticism from bankers and economists… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on October 20, 2008 - by lincolnw

Microfinance changing lives of Afghan women

KABUL, Afghanistan — Plump and jovial, with a grin running ear to ear, 35-year-old Nasreem operates a successful carpet weaving and embroidery business with the help of her two daughters.

The Kabul family is of moderate means. Her husband Korban works as a government security officer.

They were spared the harsh years in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, having fled to Pakistan where she worked as a carpet weaver in Peshawar.

Upon their return to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, she once again began working for others until she learned of MISFA — the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan, and its partner agencies that are making small-business loans available to the country’s poorest entrepreneurs…{click this link to read the rest of the article}