Archive for the ‘Archives’ Category

Posted on December 26, 2008 - by James

ACCION Invests $4.2m in New Microinsurance Initiatives to Help Move Microfinance Beyond Credit…

ACCION(R) International, a pioneer and leader in global microfinance, today announced that it plans to expand its investments to support the development and marketing of microinsurance services to the poor. 

ACCION has taken a $1.2 million equity share in ParaLife a Swiss microinsurance holding company offering financial protection to low-income populations and people with disabilities. ACCION, drawing on its microinsurance experience, institutional relationships and strong market presence in Latin America , will contribute to ParaLife’s regional rollout of low-cost insurance products tailored to the needs of those at the base of the pyramid. ParaLife launched its operations in Mexico late in 2007, and ACCION is supporting the company’s expansion in Colombia , where its Latin American hub office is based… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 26, 2008 - by lincolnw

MasterCard Foundation and BRAC Announce 19.6m Program to Expand Financial Services

The MasterCard Foundation and BRAC announced today a $19.6 million program to expand financial services to the poor across Uganda, benefiting approximately 2 million people. This initiative will demonstrate for the first time the full potential of BRAC’s holistic microfinance approach to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods in Africa. Insights generated from this program will enable BRAC to accelerate its long-term plan to adapt this approach for other African countries.

“The MasterCard Foundation is working with innovators like BRAC to expand the access and reach of microfinance services to the poor, supporting their entrepreneurship so they can improve their own lives and communities,” said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on November 25, 2008 - by lincolnw

“Microfinance is an Attractive Asset Class”

(Source: Al Bawaba)Grameen-Jameel, a social business that serves the Arab microfinance industry, is co-hosting the region’s first Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium on the 30th of November 2008 in Dubai with Geneva-based microfinance investment manager BlueOrchard.

Scheduled to take place at the Emirates Towers Hotel, the Symposium will bring together investors and microfinance institutions (MFIs) from the region for the first time ever, hence demonstrating the growing importance of microfinance in the Arab World and its emergence as an attractive asset class. Across the world, the $300 billion microfinance industry achieves average annual growth rates of 40% and investment returns of 25%…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on November 25, 2008 - by lincolnw

Overhead Cost, Makor Challenge of Microfinance Banks

Whatever has an  advantage  also has its  disadvantage. This is a well known fact that has been established time-and-time, over-and-over again. The objective of establishing microfinance in Nigeria, which aims to help alleviate poverty through empowering the people by increasing their access to factors of production, especially credit, cannot be underestimated.
Microfinance is about providing financial services to the economically active population of the country who are traditionally not served by the conventional financial institutions.
Giving loans to small scale business operators who are spread out in different locations of the Nigerian environment may not exactly be a problem.
What however seems to be a predicament is the ability of these microfinance banks to monitor their customers in order to recoup their money…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on November 21, 2008 - by James

Unitus to Accelerate Access to Microfinance in East Africa

New Partnership with Tanzanian Microfinance Institution Tujijenge Part of Larger Strategy to Bring Growth and Innovation to the Fight againstPoverty in Africa.

Seattle (PRWEB) November 19, 2008 — Unitus, Inc. today announced plans to accelerate access to microfinance in East Africa. An international nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing global poverty by increasing access to microfinance, Unitus will bring its proven Acceleration Model to a region deeply impacted by poverty yet rich with entrepreneurial spirit. In the coming months, Unitus will select and partner with a broad range of high-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Kenya and Tanzania in order to help them increase efficiency, reach more customers, and facilitate the development of a wide range of financial products and services designed to meet the needs of the working poor. In addition, Unitus will seek to launch and collaborate on a variety of initiatives designed to fuel the growth of microfinance in the region… [click here to read the rest of the article...]

Posted on November 19, 2008 - by James

Join Panel Discussion on Microfinance in Africa, Nov 20, Kenya…

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Posted on November 18, 2008 - by James

World Bank: US$200 million for rural finance…

Nhan Dan Online - The World Bank has pledged to provide US$200 million to help improve Vietnamese farmers’ access to finance.

An agreement to the effect, the Vietnam Third Rural Finance Project, was signed in Hanoi on November 14 by State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) governor Nguyen Van Giau and Martin Rama, the World Bank Acting Country Director for Vietnam.

The total cost of this project is US $279.29 million. The remaining US $79.29 million will be provided by the Vietnamese government as the counterpart fund (including contribution capital of the participating credit institutions and the end borrowers)… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 18, 2008 - by James

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS CLOSES $20 MILLION MICROFINANCE FUND

SEATTLE, Wash., USA (November 17, 2008) – In the face of growing need for capital worldwide, a $20 million microfinance investment fund was closed by Global Partnerships (GP), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization, that will significantly increase access to microcredit for people living in poverty in Latin America.

GP’s Microfinance Fund 2008 (MFF 2008) combines philanthropic donations with socially motivated capital to invest in the expanded reach of high-performing microfinance institutions (MFIs) committed to providing financial and social services to more people in poverty, including women and the rural poor. In combination with previous funds, MFF 2008 will expand the organization’s support to more than 30 partners in eight countries, reaching nearly 1 million people and impacting 5 million lives… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 14, 2008 - by James

Join USAID’s Online Discussion on Microfinance and Climate Change

The microLINKS Speaker’s Corner will host an online discussion titled Microfinance and Climate Change: Can MFIs Promote Environmental Sustainability?. Hosted by Dan Lundmark, this Speaker’s Corner is facilitated by a panel of specialists from GreenMicrofinance and from three Indian MFIs MIMO Finance, Wesco Credit and ESAF.

Each day participants will be invited to share their own experiences, questions and comments in the discussion forum:

• Day 1 (Tuesday, November 18) - What is the impact of microenterprise and microfinance clients on the natural environment?
• Day 2 (Wednesday, November 19) - How can MFIs promote environmental sustainability while still meeting their ‘core mission’ of reducing poverty?
• Day 3 (Thursday, November 20) - What is the role of donors and investors in ensuring environmental sustainability of an MFI and their clients?

For more information and free registration, visit http://www.microlinks.org/sc/greenmicrofinance. 
Send questions to avanderheijden@irgltd.com.

Posted on November 11, 2008 - by James

Barclays and UNICEF announce £5million partnership

Barclays and UNICEF have lauched a new global community investment partnership, worth £5million over the next three years.  The partnership, “Building Young Futures”, aims to empower thousands of young people across the world by providing them with the support and skills they need to achieve a brighter economic future for themselves and their communities.

Building Young Futures will focus on providing young people with access to education, vocational training and employment and supporting opportunities for entrepreneurship.  Individual projects will seek to raise the educational attainment of disadvantaged children, and to increase the number of young people gaining employment or starting their own business by providing them with the necessary skills and opportunities, via mentoring, microfinance and financial training… [click here to read the rest of the article...]

Posted on November 11, 2008 - by James

Live Blogging: Poor, Poorest, Ultra-Poor….

The second plenary session at the Microfinance India Summit was entitled “Graduating the Poor in to Microfinance”. The session focused on the progress MFI’s have made in reaching the poorest of the poor, beginning with a presentation by Syed Hashemi of the World Bank. 

Much was said about the inability of MFI’s to reach the most vulnerable households, with participants ultimately resorting to semantic considerations on the definition of the poorest (David Gibbons at Cashpor) as well as outlining the need for targeted ‘Ultra-poor’ programs, such as those sponsored by SKS and Bandhan, with short presentations made by Vikram Akula, CEO SKS, and CS Ghosh, CEO Bandhan (the Bandhan program, as it happens, is currently being evaluated by CMF RA, Jyoti Mukhopadhyay.
While one might be tempted to go in to the details of the Ultra-poor programs described, perhaps the highlight of the session – and possibly the day – was a candid back and forth between Gibbons and Akula… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 11, 2008 - by James

Kuala Lumpur: BNM launches USD 56.5m Fund for Micro Enterprises

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has launched a RM200 million Micro Enterprise Fund to increase access to micro financing for micro enterprises with viable businesses, in this current more challenging business environment.

“Given that a significant percentage of SMEs in Malaysia are micro enterprises, adequate access to financing for this segment of businesses is vital so as to enable them to contribute to the economic development of the nation,” the central bank said in a statement yesterday… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 10, 2008 - by lincolnw

Malaysia: BNM launches RM200m fund for micro enterprises

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has launched a RM200 million Micro Enterprise Fund to increase access to micro financing for micro enterprises with viable businesses, in this current more challenging business environment.

“Given that a significant percentage of SMEs in Malaysia are micro enterprises, adequate access to financing for this segment of businesses is vital so as to enable them to contribute to the economic development of the nation,” the central bank said in a statement yesterday.

The increased access to micro financing facility is part of several pre-emptive measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to boost the economy.

Apart from that, the government had also allocated a RM100 million revolving capital for the urban micro financing revolving programme, which will come under Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia. Since its launch early this year, the programme has lent out over RM500,000 to nearly 200 borrowers…{click this link to read the rest of the article}

Posted on November 7, 2008 - by James

Blogger: Candid view of the Credit Crisis effect on MFIs

“In the field, CMF research associates see how microfinance institutions work on the day-to-day. Often, operations are not as perfect as microfinance proponents profess them to be. For instance, one of my colleagues noticed the following . . . .

In the face of the global financial crisis, the verdict is still out as to how this will affect microfinance industry: Yunus and Clinton are promoting microfinance in these turbulent times as a “viable investment,” while SKS strikes a note of caution… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 6, 2008 - by James

MIX Presents Social Performance Indicators to MFI Networks

Posted on November 6, 2008 - by James

Microfinance programs reaching out to Muslim women

Dubai: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group, has dispersed almost $600 million (Dh2.2 billion) in the greater Middle East region, while working with 11 microfinance institutions (MFIs).

IFC has invested $72 million in the institutions based in countries in the region that have low access to finance, especially Morocco, Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Momina Aijazuddin, programme manager of Microfinance.

The institutions have provided microfinance to 1.25 million clients.

“Most people have not had access to financing before. In the case of Muslim countries, almost 60 per cent of the clients are women,” Aijazuddin said… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 6, 2008 - by James

MIX Releases Latest Report on Microfinance in Peru

Posted on November 4, 2008 - by James

First Mobile Microfinance Bank to Open in Philippines

The Ayala Group has created the Philippines’ first mobile microfinance bank in partnership with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Globe Telecom. The new mobile facility will be called Pilipinas Savings Bank. BPI and Globe will each have an equal stake of 40% while Ayala Corporation will own 20% of the bank.

Ayala Corporation general counsel Renato Marzan said the venture will extend wholesale loans to MFIs and other microfinance products in the future. It will use mobile technology to deliver financial services and expand its retail client base. He added that the move seeks to further enhance the Ayala Group’s participation in building a financial ecosystem within the microfinance community… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 4, 2008 - by James

Babyloan: A New Website Dedicated to Microfinance

Paris, France,  October 31, 2008  -  A team of people passionate about microfinance and the internet have launched, in partnership with the NGO ACTED and the two famous French banks la BRED and Crédit Coopératif, www.babyloan.org - the first French online microlending website for microentrepreneurs in developing countries.

The idea is very simple : 

Babyloan allows socially-aware internet users to:

• Choose the microentrepreneur they want to support 
• Choose the loan sum to provide the microentrepreneur so they may start or develop a small business  
• Receive regular updates and be reimboursed at the end of the loan term

It’s new, it’s simple, and it provides those with less opportunities the chance to take control of their life with dignity and respect… [click here to read the rest of this article...]

Posted on November 3, 2008 - by lincolnw

Philippines: Ayala’s create RP’s 1st mobile microfinance bank

The Ayala Group has created the country’s first mobile microfinance bank. In partnership with Ayala Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands and Globe Telecom, the new mobile facility will be called Pilipinas Savings Bank.

Capitalized at 500M, BPI and Globe will have an equal stake of 40 percent while Ayala Corp. will own 20 percent of the bank.

Ayala Corp. general counsel Renato Marzan said the venture will extend wholesale microfinance loans to microfinance institutions and other microfinance products in the future, and will use mobile technology to deliver financial services and expand its retail client base…{click this link to read the rest of the article}