Posts Tagged ‘cgap’
Posted on November 25, 2008 - by lincolnw
Realizing the Potential of Branchless Banking: Challenges Ahead
Being able to make payments conveniently and securely is an essential ingredient in modern life and commerce. It enables economic livelihoods and supports many social relationships (remittances between geographically split families and friends), communal support actions (e.g., joint buying of staples), and public welfare programs (payments to needy families). Yet most people and microenterprises in developing countries must rely on physical delivery of cash or actual goods to make payments. This imposes large costs and risks on those beyond the reach of modern payment networks.
The lucky few have more efficient means of exchange: checks, money orders, direct bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards, and so forth. All these cut down on the need to carry cash, making consumers and their money more secure. Even handling and exchanging cash is a lot easier: consumers have debit cards with which they can exchange electronic value for cash at any number of conveniently located automated teller machines (ATMs)…{click this link to read the rest of the 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
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 September 26, 2008 - by James
Microfinance Leaders Launch Campaign for Client Protection at Clinton Global Initiative
The Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International today announced a Campaign for Client Protection in Microfinance—a broad-based initiative to unite microfinance providers in commitment to the campaign standards for the appropriate treatment of low-income clients. Founding partners of the Campaign include Al Amana (Morocco), CGAP, Compartamos Banco (Mexico), Deutsche Bank, Freedom from Hunger, Grameen Foundation, Opportunity International, Pro Mujer and Women’s World Banking… [click here to read the rest of this article...]
Posted on August 29, 2008 - by James
CGAP Editorial: As we argue what the bottom line should be, we lose sight of what the bottom line is…
Rhetorical Question: Is all this rhetoric good for Microfinance?
Evelyn Stark
(Why can’t we all just get along)
We’re in the middle of campaign season here in America and we’re being bombarded with headlines about how this candidate is unqualified, and how that candidate is out of touch with the “common man”. It’s such a distraction that even the politically aware start to tune it out.
So, what does this have to do with microfinance? Recently I’ve been reading articles with headlines like: “Did Yunus Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize: Microfinance or Macrofarce?” as well as dueling articles and Op-Eds in the Economist and the Wall Street Journal that make it seem like microfinance only exists at rhetoric’s polar opposites. All good. Or all bad.
At what point will it be all right to admit - to proclaim - that microfinance has a place in the toolkit of anti-poverty and pro-growth development? And, that it may not be the right tool in all circumstances; it may be a great driver and leader in some instances, and it may be useless or even negative in others? Is all of this name-calling helping us move forward as a field, or is it a distraction? Are there really so many competing (even nefarious?) interests at play? Are people trying to simply profit off the poor? Are poor-to-middling NGOs really trying to capture subsidies just to keep their headquarters staff employed?
Or, are we all imperfect, but striving towards the same goals? And, if so, can we agree that we need solid, profitable (you can call it sustainable) financial services firms (of many types) with strong financial and social interests and incentives in serving poor, underserved people? And, then can we agree to divide up our expertise to make that happen and move forward?
There are a lot of poor and very poor people who couldn’t care less about the rhetoric, but who might find access to good financial services really useful.
