Posts Tagged ‘economy’
Posted on November 10, 2009 - by boris
EBRD launches new strategy for Mongolia…
The EBRD’s Board of Directors has adopted a new strategy for Mongolia, which reinforces the Bank’s commitment to further support the Mongolian economy and sets out the priorities for its activities in the country over the next three years.
The new strategy acknowledges the progress achieved in Mongolia from a number of structural reforms, such as price and trade liberalisation and privatisation, and outlines the transition challenges (enterprise restructuring, competition policy, banking, non-bank financial institutions & infrastructure reform)for further development of the Mongolian economy.
“In order to promote the diversification of the Mongolian economy the EBRD will continue to support the development of the private enterprises in Mongolia by extending credit lines and providing equity investments to selected agribusiness, cashmere/textile, tourism and property businesses,” EBRD reported.
Source: http://www.finchannel.com/news_flash/Banks/51480_EBRD_launches_new_strategy_for_Mongolia_/
Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Efforts are on to protect women from economic slow down – Krishna Tirath…
PIB Press
Smt. Krishna Tirath Minister for Women and Child Development has
said that the efforts are on by the Indian Government to protect
women from economic slow down and also enable them to uplift
themselves. Self help group movement is being strengthen further
to mobilize more and more women for income generating activities
with linkage to micro credit.
The Minister was addressing the Plenary Session of 3rd East Asia
Gender Equality Ministerial Meeting at Seoul, South Korea
yesterday.
Speaking about impact of economic crisis on women, on their
health, nutritional level and their economic sustainability, Smt.
Krishna Tirath said that Indian Government is committed to uplift
women in every sphere of life and it is contemplating to increase
reservation for women upto 50% in local Government, which is 33 %
at the moment.
Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Home Proposals pave way for banks to reach rural poor…
Business Daily
Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday proposed amendments
to the Banking Act to legalize branchless banking and allow the
Kenya Post office and Savings Bank to trade in the foreign
exchange market.
Should the proposals be enacted, The Post Office Bank long
saddled by laws barring it from carrying out conventional banking
business will now be able to receive deposits on behalf of
commercial banks while trading in the forex market.
In the landmark proposal, minister for finance Uhuru Kenyatta’s
move to allow commercial banks to use non-bank agents such as the
post office is expected to unlock the reach of banking services
across the country.
Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin
Microfinance: How Anyone Can Support Small Businesses, Our American Roots…
Napsnet.com
(NAPSI)-Small businesses are the epitome of the American
way–improving one’s life and supporting a family by offering
useful services and products to communities by hard-working,
industrious people. According to the Association for Enterprise
Opportunity (AEO), today, small businesses comprise a whopping 87
percent of all businesses in the U.S., and chances are that you
know or shop at one near you. The recent emergence of Web-based
microfinance in the U.S. lets anyone directly fund the small
businesses that supply local communities with unique character
and opportunities.
Microfinance In The U.S.: How You Can Take Part
There are many microfinance organizations in the U.S. that make
microloans, and getting involved is easy.
Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin
US Congressional Gold Medal suggested for Muhammad Yunus…
The Hindu News
Washington (PTI): Two identical bills have been introduced in the
US Senate and the House of Representatives to award Congressional
Gold Medal to Bangladesh’s Nobel Laureate and Grameen Bank fame
Dr Muhammad Yunus.
Congressional Gold Medal is the highest award conferred by the US
Congress. So far only a few international personalities,
including the Dalai Lama, have been bestowed with this award.
The Senate Version of the Bill (S-846) has been sponsored by
Senator Richard Durbin and co-sponsored by 55 others, while the
House of Representative Bill (H R 2000) has been introduced by
Congressman Rush Holt and cosponsored by 29 others.
Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indian Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) Likely to Extend Credit Guarantee…
Microcapital
The Indian government is considering increasing its credit
guarantee scheme for micro and small enterprises (MSE) in the
upcoming 2009-2010 budget through its Credit Guarantee Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
The Indian government is considering increasing its credit
guarantee scheme for micro and small enterprises (MSE) in the
upcoming 2009-2010 budget through its Credit Guarantee Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). The existing guarantee for
member lending institutions of this scheme does not cover bank
loans to MSEs that are secured by collateral. A finance ministry
source claims that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put
forward this proposal and is working on it with the ministry.
Currently the CGTMSE encourages banks to provide loans to MSEs
that do not have any collateral. In return banks do not bear all
the risk in the case of default and do not need to set aside
money for the risk of defaults on these loans.
Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Gavin
Microfinance firm gets Sh254m profit…
The Citizen News
CRDB Microfinance Services Company made a pretax profit of Sh254
million last year, an annual report distributed to delegates
during a micro-lending forum organised by the bank showed.
The company provided Sh48.5 billion micro loans. The outstanding
loan portfolio stood at Sh58.8 billion by December 2008, a
statement by CRDB Bank managing director Charles Kimei showed.
The company was established in 2000.
Under the Uwezeshaji Credit Guarantee Scheme, it disbursed Sh22.9
billion to 203 microfinance institutions, surpassing the
Government target of lending Sh22 billion in 2008. The firm
participated in the Mwananchi Empowerment Scheme initiated by the
National Economic Empowerment Council to facilitate lending in
select regions.
The Our priority is to expand our microfinance initiatives to
reach out more districts and provide services to more Tanzanians
who have no access to financial services. To achieve the goal,
the company will continue to open new service centres for MFIs
[microfinance institutions],” he said.
Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Gavin
Citibank India FY09 PAT rises 20% yoy…
India Infoline
Expatriates Citibank India on Wednesday reported its financial
results for the year ended March 31, 2009. Citibank India branch
announced that its net profit after tax was Rs21.73bn for the
year 2008-09, representing a 20% increase from Rs18.04bn in the
same period of last year. The bank has reported total revenues of
Rs104.23bn for the year ended March 31, 2009, representing a 24%
increase from Rs84.1bn for the same period last year.
Expatriates The growth in revenues was attributable both to
higher interest income as well as significant growth in fee and
trading income. As at March 31, 2009, the balance sheet grew by
26% from Rs838.51bn to Rs1052.64bn, reflecting continuing growth
in customer lending activities.
Expatriates Despite industry-wide challenges in unsecured
consumer credit impacting profitability of the Retail Banking
segment, the increase in net income reflected strong growth in
Corporate/Commercial Banking and Treasury.
Posted on June 22, 2009 - by Gavin
Aid has not, does not, and will never, help Africa…
Daily Nation
RECENTLY, AID TO AFRICA has come under attack from the most
unlikely quarters — the Africans themselves. The most recent of
these has come from Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist, whose
recently-published book, Dead Aid, makes a convincing argument
against foreign aid to Africa. Moyo argues that Africans have for
too long lived in “a culture of aid” that has failed to reduce
poverty or promote economic growth on the continent. She calls
for the eventual phasing out of aid altogether and for making
African markets more efficient. Despite billions of aid money
being poured into government coffers every year, Africa continues
to remain largely poor because aid fosters corruption and hinders
the development of home-grown industries and solutions. Moreover,
aid doesn’t come for free. Most of it has to be paid back, which
means future generations of Africans are burdened with debt
before they are even born. Even when things, such as mosquito
nets, are given for free, they end up stunting or killing local
industries that produce those things, which leads to more
poverty.
Posted on June 18, 2009 - by Gavin
Reaching out to the unbanked…
NEXT
Expatriates have advised their foreign counterparts to make the additional efforts it would require to reach out to the unbanked as only then would the economy become a cashless one and achieve its goal of becoming one of the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020.
The experts, from different information technology companies and finance institutions worldwide, advised their Nigerian colleagues to wake up to the call as they reminded them that they had only eleven years to achieve their dream.
Piet Cooreman, the Distributor Area manager-Africa, Diebold Limited, Belgium, at the CardExpo Africa 2009 event held in Lagos, advised that the banks should adopt Outdoors Multi-functional Automated Teller Machines and move out to the people.
“We have to reach out to the market people; don’t wait for them to come to you. Mobile banking is about outreach. Move the mobile bank branch to the market. Through this medium, you can move them into the banking society and thereby attract new customers. These new machines have many functional facilities including card readers, cheque deposits, bulk notes acceptance, envelope deposits, among others,” he said.
Posted on June 18, 2009 - by Gavin
CreditRegistry obtains CBN approval-in-principle…
Business Day Online
CR Services plc (CreditRegistry), the pioneer and only fully operational credit bureau in Nigeria, has announced that it has obtained Approval-in-Principle (AIP) from the CBN to provide credit bureau services in Nigeria. Since inception in January 2003, CreditRegistry’s focus has been on bringing great value to Nigerian financial institutions, retailers and consumers through the innovative application of advanced technologies. With over six years experience in the Nigerian market, CreditRegistry has gained deep insight into the peculiarities of lending in Nigeria.
Today, CreditRegistry remains the first and only credit bureau in the world to integrate biometric technologies into a credit bureau system, providing anti-fraud capabilities to its subscribers. The company provides the most secure, cost-effective and innovative credit bureau solutions to help Nigerian creditors expand credit opportunities to borrowers, while simultaneously preventing fraud.
With a database of over 1 million credit records, CreditRegistry subscribers different itself from competition by incorporating credit bureau information into lending processes to manage risk, reduce fraud and increase profits. (more…)
Posted on June 17, 2009 - by Gavin
Grama Vidiyal raises over USD 4 million of equity capital, the first equity investment in India in 2009…
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu, India-based microfinance institution successfully completes second round of equity infusion
from MicroVest, Unitus Equity Fund I (UEFI) and Amar Foundation.
Tamil Nadu, India, – Grama Vidiyal Microfinance Private Ltd (GVMFL) is pleased to
announce the successful completion of the second round of equity infusion of USD 4.25 million. GVMFL
provides financial services to 400,000 microfinance clients and has a loan portfolio of over USD 40
million. The new capital will be utilized to support the company’s major expansion plans over the next
twelve months and meet the enhanced capital adequacy norms set by the Reserve Bank of India.
“During these economic times, we are very pleased to receive the unwavering support of our existing
investors, Unitus Equity Fund (managed by Elevar Equity Advisors) and Amar Foundation, and our new
investor, MicroVest,” said S. Devaraj, Founder & CMD of GVMFL. “From the very beginning, MicroVest’s
team members have been extremely knowledgeable and consultative on issues surrounding our
business. Their international network and outstanding reputation in the field of microfinance will be of
great value to us as we expand our services and outreach.”
“We are extremely pleased with our investment in such a renowned company as GVMFL,” said Gil
Crawford, CEO of MicroVest. “This is our first investment in India so choosing the right company to mark
our foray into the Indian market was critical. Their management team is exceptional and we look forward
to supporting them in future endeavors.” The investment in GVMFL came from MicroVest II, MicroVest’s
newly launched equity fund, which invests with Tier I microfinance institutions. MicroVest II investors
include large institutional and private investors. (more…)
Posted on June 17, 2009 - by Gavin
LeapFrog Raises $44 Million for World’s First Microinsurance Fund…
PR Newswire
LUXEMBOURG, – In a breakthrough for microfinance and alternative investment, the LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund announced today that it has raised US$44 million. It is the world’s first investment fund focused on microinsurance. The fund aims to invest in businesses that will bring insurance and financial services to 25 million low-income people in Africa and Asia.
The capital was raised from a diverse set of public and private investors around the world, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), FMO, Omidyar Network, Triodos-Doen, Hivos-Triodos Fund, ACCION International, Calvert Large Cap Growth Fund, wealth manager Felipe Medina, and the LeapFrog team. The team consists of former CEOs and pioneers in insurance and investment in emerging markets.
“The world desperately needs market-based solutions to poverty that draw in major financial investors by offering fair but competitive returns,” said Dr. Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog. “The best part about microinsurance is that we can reach millions of people, swiftly. Microinsurance is both profitable and scalable. We can think big. We don’t have to choose between money and meaning.” (more…)
Posted on June 15, 2009 - by Gavin
How interest rate ‘capping’ affects MFBs’ lending drive…
Business Day
It is only natural for low- income earners, most of whom patronise microfinance banks, to expect cheap credit from the micro-finance operators, especially with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pegging of lending and deposit rates at 22 and 15 percent per annum, respectively. From every indication, that anticipation may just be dashed since microfinance banks sometimes source funds at ‘capped rates,’ for which reason they lend to borrowers at higher rates.
But majorly, since the United Nations, including its agencies like the World Bank and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) give grant to microfinance banks, there should therefore not be any linkage between the capped rates and microfinance lending.
Nonetheless, in the estimation of Edna Ishaya, director, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), a non-profit organisation funded by DFID and Ford Foundation, the interest rate capping announcement did not differentiate between commercial and microfinance banks; thus, some naïve MFBs customers expect to receive loans at 22 percent.
“It affects MFBs negatively. When customers hear it, they don’t know whether it is for commercial banks or MFBs. They think it is for everybody, so they expect their microfinance banks to lend to them at 22 percent,” she observes. (more…)
Posted on June 15, 2009 - by Gavin
PRESS RELEASE: Oikocredit Unveils results of International Empowerment Study…
Microcapital
AMERSFOOT,NETHERLANDS, - At Oikocredit, it’s essential to know exactly how fair finance affects the lives of those it serves. In the first phase of an international study covering four countries (Bulgaria, Kenya, Peru and the Philippines) Oikocredit has examined the notion of fair financing and women empowerment.
Using in-depth interviews, we asked what women empowerment means to our microfinance clients. What is it, how does it work and what does it look like? Is the concept a notion of the North? Or is it genuinely relevant to the small entrepreneurs of the South?
The empowerment and advancement of women is part of Oikocredit’s bid to closely evaluate social performance. We wish to know the real life effect of microfinance on standards of living: access to education, health and general household impact.
Oikocredit board president Shobha Arole said the study was the first step towards ensuring the organization’s contribution to women empowerment through its field work.
“A lack of access to basic education, economic and property rights means 70 per cent of the world’s poor are female,” Dr Arole said. “These are the groups who are marginalized, victims of violence and vulnerable in every sense of the word.” (more…)
Posted on June 12, 2009 - by Gavin
Small farms hold the key to riding out the recession in Africa, says IFAD President…
ASNS News
Unleashing the potential of Africa’s small farms – the mainstay of food production – is more essential than ever as the continent grapples with the impact of the global economic crisis, according to the President of the UN’s rural poverty agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
“Smallholder agriculture is the largest private-sector activity in many African countries. It not only feeds families, it provides jobs and catalyses the growth of rural businesses and broader development,” said IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze.
Agriculture accounts for about 30 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, at least 40 per cent of its exports and up to 80 per cent of employment. But Africa’s 80 million smallholder farms are far from realizing their potential, noted Nwanze, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Cape Town (10-12 June) where he will speak on agriculture, employment and public-private partnerships. The global economic crisis has thrust the region’s largest economy – South Africa – into recession and risks having a devastating impact on poor people across the continent.
Posted on June 12, 2009 - by Gavin
Area Rotarians raise $900 toward micro finance loan for bank in Africa…
Sierra Star
Last week, it took just 50 people at an Oakhurst Sierra Rotary fundraising dinner to raise more than $900 for Opportunity International at Sweetwater Steakhouse. Those dollars will go toward the overall goal of $300,000 that the nonprofit micro finance organization will use to build a bank in Mbale, an African market town in Uganda. The bank in Mbale will provide micro finance loans to impoverished entrepreneurs there to start small businesses. The businesses will help entrepreneurs to save and repay their loans to the bank. In turn, the repayments will provide for more loans and a greater financial infrastructure for Mbale.
For Rotarian John Crane, the prospect of a cyclical investment has appeal. “I heard about the idea of providing loans for the poor to help them create self-sustaining businesses and I got really excited about the potential to not only help people, but to spread our (Rotarian) values globally,” he said.
Crane said he was deeply affected by a study-abroad term he spent as a young student in Honduras, where Marxist teaching was pervasive, as was anti-capitalist thinking. “I came to realize that the problem is, I believe, that capitalism never got to them,” he said. “I really believe in our country, in the idea that if you’re willing to work for it, the opportunity for success is there.”
Posted on June 11, 2009 - by Gavin
Microcredit and microfinance the solution to Yemen’s employment problem…
Yemen Times
SANA’A, June 10 — While the percentage of unemployment in Yemen varies from one source to another, official statistics indicate that it is no less than 16 percent. Independent sources such as NGOs and research centers emphasize that such a percentage is not realistic.
“The Ministry of Planning announced in 2004 that Yemen’s unemployment rate is 37 percent, and then in 2006 Prime Minister Ba Jammal said this rate was reduced to 18 percent. But all these figures are below the realistic estimate of at least 35 percent, which means that one in three job seeking Yemenis is unemployed,” said economist Taher Mujahid Al-Salehi from the Yemeni Research and Studies Center.
Meanwhile, in a recent official report the Yemeni government admitted the failure of its employment strategy to reduce unemployment to 12 percent by 2010.
The report, issued by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, said that unemployment had remained at about 16 percent between 2006 and 2007.
According to the report, limited investment opportunity hampered efforts to create new jobs and meet labor market needs. The report pinned the plan’s failure on the Yemeni economy’s inability to provide new jobs for youth. (more…)
Posted on June 8, 2009 - by Gavin
Dead aid or sustainable development?…
Austrian Times
Kenya is famous for producing Europe’s Roses. Some 36 per cent of the roses sold in Europe come from Kenya’s Rift Valley, flown here from Nairobi via Amsterdam and Frankfurt. This article is about another Rose.
Austrian Times correspondent and CEO of the Austria for Africa Association John Morris has been to the Rift valley and filed this report about Rose the orphan.
Rose is from the Luo tribe, the same as Barrack Obama’s father, and she now lives with her Aunty and Uncle and attends Morop Girls School just north of Nakuru, Kenya some 10 km south of the Equator and she is benefiting from secondary education and she is playing soccer for a girl’s team, but like many of her team mates, she is dependant on good will around her to help her through to adulthood. She is being sponsored by an Austrian based family. This Rose has a chance to bloom.
There are thousands of human “Roses” in Kenya, orphaned and without hope, in need of guidance and support.
Kenya’s Rift Valley is a magnificent volcanic landscape made famous by the Hollywood Movie “Out of Africa” starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, but it hides a reality: Rose’s parents like so many others in Kenya’s Rift Valley have died from HIV which has reached endemic proportions. The death rate caused by HIV is so extreme that about 10 percent of the children are now without natural parents and their future looks uncertain. Only around 60 percent of Kenya’s children get secondary education and provision of higher education is very low. (more…)
Posted on June 5, 2009 - by Gavin
Co-op unveils new global development fund…
International Supermarket News
The Co-operative Bank today (5 June) unveiled an innovative new global co-operative development fund aimed at helping to alleviate poverty in some
of the world’s poorest communities. The initiative is very much in line with the ethics that form the central identity of the firm.
The Global Co-operative Development Fund (GCDF) has been created withlong-term partner Deutsche Bank and is the first specialised international development fund to specifically target credit unions and agricultural co-operatives that serve some of the world’s poorest communities.
It is being initiated at a particularly opportune time with some regions seeing cutbacks in development finance, such as funding for microfinance, following the global downturn.
Participation in this fund supports the Bank’s aim to be one of the UK’s leading providers of development finance. Since 2005, the UK only bank has been steadily increasing its commitment to international development and poverty alleviation.
Richard Wilcox Head of Structured and Asset Finance at The Co-operative Bank said: “The co-operative business model of operating for the benefit of its members looks set to emerge stronger from the wreck of the global downturn. (more…)
The MiFi Report
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