Posts Tagged ‘micro credit’
Posted on July 3, 2009 - by boris
SBDF funded 540 micro, small loans last year…
$60M loan sealed with World Bank private sector arm
The Small Business Development Finance Trust on Tuesday announced that it had funded over 540 micro and small loans to the value of $ 147, 245,000 during 2008, in spite of the challenging economic environment.
Chairman of the Trust Sattaur Gafoor, in his report at the firm’s 6th Annual General Meeting, stated that through this process the establishment has created and sustained approximately 1,368 jobs in the economy.
According to Gafoor, in the brief period of its operations the Trust has funded over 3,971 loans and provided managerial and technical training to a large number of entrepreneurs.
(more…)
Posted on June 17, 2009 - by Gavin
Loans To SMIs Total RM120 Billion Todate…
Bernama.com
KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) — A total of RM120 billion todate has been given out in loans by the country’s banking system to entrepreneurs and small traders especially in the small and medium sized industries (SMIs), the Dewan Rakyat was informed Wednesday.
Deputy Finance Minister Senator Datuk Dr Awang Adik Hussein said the loans involved 500,000 accounts which accounted for 40 percent of the RM300 billion loans allocated.
“The rate (approvals) for SMIs loans currently stands at 80 percent, which means for every 10 applications, eight are approved,” he said in reply to a question from Ahmad Kasim (PKR-Kuala Kedah) who wanted to know if the ministry kept a detailed view of the banks in keeping it easy for entrepreneurs and small traders to have access to loans.
Ahmad also wanted to know the measures taken by the ministry to ban moneylenders who took aggressive measures when recovering their money.
Awang Adek said the rise in the level of approvals for loans was largely due to the SMI Loan Guarantee Scheme introduced by the government under the economic stimulus package. (more…)
Posted on June 3, 2009 - by Gavin
Micro-credit : Creating real jobs and business in Lyon France…
Digital Journal
Micro-credit has been around a long while of course, and became a household name with the advent of the Grameen Bank, a major player in this field.
Micro-credit exists in many countries and as such doesn’t have a universally defined description due to the differing needs and cultures of the countries in which it is active.
France’s main micro-credit organism is the Adie Association for the Right to Economic Initiative. It was created in 1989 as a small outfit by its present-day President, Maria Nowak, and has since generated the creation of many thousands of small businesses.
One of the criticisms levelled at micro-credit has been that it is no more than a privatisation of public safety-net initiatives and programmes but Adie has overcome this via its statute as an association, which, in France, means it isn’t a private business in the normal sense of the word. This statute also gives it access to many collaborative actions with the authorities. (more…)
Posted on May 27, 2009 - by Gavin
SBP adds incentive to Micro Credit Guarantee Facility…
Daily Times
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has told the banks that they might provide funding to microfinance banks/institutions with 25 percent First Loss Guarantee to cover up to 25 percent of the first loss on the principal amount under the Micro Credit Guarantee Facility.
The MCGF was introduced by the central bank in December last year to use microfinance effectively in Pakistan for poverty alleviation. It was designed to help in enhancing the outreach of the microfinance to poor and marginalized segment of the society. Through this facility, the central bank had tried to encourage banks/DFIs to increasing lending to microfinance sector.
However, the commercial banks and DFIs did not respond enthusiastically to the facility. According to reports, only one loan was granted under the MCGF. Now the central bank has further incentivized commercial banks to provide wholesale funds to eligible Microfinance Banks/ Institutions under the MCGF. Besides the existing 40 percent Partial (pari-passu) Guarantee to cover the principal amount in default, they may now provide funding to microfinance bank/institution with 25 percent First Loss Guarantee to cover up to 25 percent of the first loss on the principal amount. (more…)
Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Business plan to tackle poverty…
The Press and Journal
Church considering cheap loans to help unemployed people realise their potential.
The Kirk is considering using a business model pioneered in the third world to tackle poverty in Scotland.
It is investigating the merits of investing in a company which will give low-interest loans to unemployed people who want to start up their own businesses.
The so-called micro credit scheme, successfully used in Bangladesh, would benefit those on welfare benefits who do not qualify for bank and building society loans.
The Church of Scotland-backed firm would allocate between £500 and £2,000 to a group of up to five people who want to set up ventures that do not require premises, such as hairdressing, child-minding and cleaning services.
The scheme, which would entail people taking collective responsibility for repaying loans, is operated successfully elsewhere in the UK and in New York to assist asylum seekers.
Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Micro credit interest rates…
The New Nation
ONE reason for less than the desired impact of micro credit on the poor is the high interest rate on such credit. Borrowers in the first place should be poor or very poor. But according to various studies conducted by responsible developmental agencies from time to time, a notable number of the recipients of micro credit were well above the poor category.
The poor or extreme poor who take micro credit should be allowed to do so at affordable or nominal rates of interest. But even the interest rates charged on publicly run micro credit programmes continue to be rather oppressive for their poor receivers.
Disbursing credit to the poor to make big financial gains out of the same cannot be the aim of reducing poverty. Therefore, recommended lower rates of interest on micro credit should meet both the needs of viably running the official micro credit operations and the intended objectives of these programmes.
The NGOs, in many cases, charge high interest on micro credits provided by them. They need to be persuaded to significantly decrease the interests they charge and ought to base their credit operations truly for the benefit and advantage of the poor. (more…)
Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Taraba spends N804m on poverty alleviation…
Vangaurd Online
Jalingo — The Taraba State Government has spent about N804 million in the last two years on poverty alleviation programmes for unemployed youths.
Mr Dan Kwetako, the Commissioner for Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation, made this known in Jalingo yesterday while speaking to newsmen.
He said N184.44 million of the amount was used in the training and equipping 1,240 youths and women in 20 different skills in the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years.
Kwetako explained that the beneficiaries were equipped with working materials that were subsidised by 50 per cent in order to make them self-employed and self-sustaining.
Similarly, the commissioner said another batch of 2,000 youths received a total of N50 million as interest-free loans under the Micro-Credit facilities of the state government.
Kwetako said to reduce transport problems in Jalingo, the government had procured and distributed taxis and buses to various categories of youths, who not only got self-employed, but also provided services to the public at the cost of N20 or N30 per drop. (more…)
Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Tough rules, fund shortage hamper microfinance banks…
The International News
KARACHI: Harsh regulations and a liquidity crunch are not letting microfinance banks extend financial services to the poor segments of the society, industry people told The News.In the absence of a proper government support, most of the microfinance banks, which are in their infancy, are running into continuous losses and could collapse, they said.
“Limited outreach of microfinance banks means they are not able to raise deposits,” said M Moazzam Khan, CEO of Network Microfinance Bank. “What we have are small deposits on a small scale and they are not feasible. So where do we get the money to lend?”
Microfinance banks do not have enough branches, facilities and saving products to attract individuals and businesses, he said. Part of this shortfall was supposed to be met by the State Bank of Pakistan’s Microfinance Credit Guarantee Facility (MCGF) which encourages commercial banks to lend to their liquidity-starved microfinance counterparts.
The facility was launched last year but only one commercial bank has lent under it despite the central bank’s guarantee of insuring 40 per cent of such funds and allowing its deduction from mandatory reserves requirement. (more…)
Posted on May 21, 2009 - by Gavin
Bentley Students Try Microfinancing In Their Own Backyard…
WBUR
WALTHAM, Mass. — A group of students at Bentley University is trying to do something no students in the country have been able to do successfully: use a model for lending to the poor that has worked well in developing countries, but not so well in this country. The Bentley Microfinance Initiative is designed to make loans to poor entrepreneurs in the Boston area.
When Sarah Kovacic helped to create a micro-lending program at Bentley University last year, she learned that making small loans to poor entrepreneurs is easier in poor countries.
“You don’t have all those regulations, you don’t have the taxes” Kovacic said. “And also you’re not competing against WalMarts and Walgreens and your Targets and all of those. And so it’s so much easier for a new entrepreneur to start up a stand and sell their homemade clothing or quilts or something like that.”
The program being created by Kovacic and other students is the first one of its kind in the U.S. Tufts University has a $100-million microfinance initiative, but it’s for international loans. Bentley’s is the only one run by students, and the beneficiaries will be Boston-area entrepreneurs who can’t qualify for bank loans. The students have $300,000 to lend.
Posted on May 18, 2009 - by Gavin
Tackling poverty from the root in Oyo…
The Punch
Visitors to the nooks and crannies of the towns and villages in Oyo State will feel the hardship and suffering the rural dwellers are passing through in the face of the current global economic crisis, which has depleted their purchasing power tremendously.
Our correspondent who went round some villages in the Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas of the state recently, observed that the local people are grappling with the challenges of having access to capital and stable market.
For the rural dwellers whose main occupation is farming, getting their farm produce from farms across to the consumers in the cities without an efficient public transportation system, is a great task.
A mother of six, who is also a third wife of a deceased farmer in Ayete town, in the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state, Mrs. Yemisi Abiola, while lamenting her plight, said she could no longer take care of her children.
Madam Abiola is one of the numerous rural women who are faced with the difficult task of getting access to quality education, health care and other social amenities that could improve their standard of living in the state.
It might be in the recognition of this fact that informed the decision of the state government, which is also confronted with the problem of dwindling allocation from the federation account, to redirect its focus on the poor rural women. (more…)
Posted on May 14, 2009 - by Gavin
Erongo credit scheme members awarded…
Informante
THE first group of 56 beneficiaries in the innovative Erongo Micro Finance Credit Scheme on Friday received certificates after completing a financial management and business planning course in Swakopmund.
Each of the beneficiaries also qualified for a loan not exceeding N$10,000 from Bank Windhoek to start their own businesses, alleviate poverty and create employment.
The scheme, a partnership between the Erongo Regional Council, Rössing Foundation, Bank Windhoek and the Erongo Development Foundation Board (EDF) seeks to help disadvantaged people.
Samuel Nuuyoma, Erongo Region Governor said people from the region are hard workers “who can easily gain financial independence and meet the Government halfway in the field of poverty reduction”.
“This potential, aided by financial upliftment is just the right recipe for realising the dream of financial independence for our country and uplifting the living standards of the communities we are serving, especially through providing training and funding to disadvantaged people who are serious about venturing into business.
Posted on May 8, 2009 - by Gavin
Small loans lead to big returns…
BBC News
By Salim Rizvi, New York.
Tahmina Maya is a 45-year-old New York woman of modest means.
But in the past 12 months, she has been able to get a loan to start a business and make the regular weekly repayments on time, while many Americans are struggling to pay off mortgages and credit card debts.
And she’s not the only one.
Despite the ravages of the global financial crisis, one bank in the Big Apple, Grameen America, has been making its mark with a business model that specifically aims to help the least fortunate. And while its rivals struggle with the consequences of sub-prime mortgage lending, Grameen America stands out with a loan repayment rate of more than 99%.
Tahmina came to the US from Bangladesh 11 years ago. After her husband died three years ago, she had to struggle to bring up her two children. A year ago, she took her first loan of $3,000 from Grameen America bank to start a small clothing and ornaments business. Now she has taken two loans of $3,000 and has been repaying the loan instalments on time every week, as well as taking care of the family. (more…)
Posted on May 4, 2009 - by Gavin
DOMSA: Empowering Entrepreneurs for Job Creation…
Vanguard Online
Realising that its mission to build a stronger Nigeria cannot be achieved without significant dent on the pervasive and widespread poverty in the country, Oceanic Bank and Delta State Government have entered into a partnership to eradicate poverty through micro credit scheme, Babajide Komolafe writes
It started with a micro credit scheme earlier instituted by state government through which funds are disbursed to the people (in cluster groups) with visible means of livelihood, especially the local entrepreneurs to empower them and through them create more jobs. The intention of the scheme is for the local entrepreneurs most of whom are engaged in cottage industries, to have access to funds to produce, expand, employ and explore the export potentials of their products.
As the implementation of the scheme progressed, the state government, taking a cue from the failure of past poverty alleviation programmes, saw the need to nip in the bud some observed challenges which can derail it.
The state government therefore decided to energize the scheme by bringing in private sector expertise and the regulatory authority’s supervisory skill. In this regard, the Oceanic Bank International plc and the Central Bank of Nigeria were brought into the scheme to take over the coordination to ensure that the fight against poverty was unadulterated, and that the scheme did not turn out to be a mere political exercise. (more…)
Posted on April 24, 2009 - by Gavin
UN warns food crisis could re-emerge…
Gulf News
Bangkok: A UN report says the food crisis that hit many developing countries last year is likely to re-emerge following the recession, so countries in Asia must put measures in place to ensure the poorest have enough to eat while protecting others from rising prices.
The report was released Friday. It calls for governments to implement social assistance programs such as cash transfers and food-for-work schemes that ensure the poor have food during periods of sharp price increases.
At the same time, it recommends that governments boost the productivity of small-scale farmers by making it easier for them to get their crops to market, introducing micro-credit programs that allow them buy new equipment and land and insurance schemes that help communities cope with disasters.
Source: http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Nations/10307302.html
Posted on April 16, 2009 - by Gavin
Microfinance integral to poverty reduction strategy: Gilani…
Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that microfinance is an important pillar and integral part of Pakistan’s poverty reduction strategy and the government is making all out efforts to expand its coverage through microfinance banking, microfinance institutions and rural support programme.
The Prime Minister expressed these views while chairing a high level meeting on Microfinance Network at the Prime Minister House here this afternoon.
“Micro-credit is the best way of reaching out to the marginalized and the forgotten and can change the destinies of the have nots of the country,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said the government is making multiple interventions to cause a dent in poverty. As part of our lasting and sustainable poverty reduction strategy, the Prime Minister said, “we are focusing on creating income generating avenues for the poor and disenfranchised and specially the women through micro-credit institutions.” (more…)
Posted on April 15, 2009 - by Gavin
NEWS WIRE: Jordan Micro Credit Company Finances Purchases of Solar Systems…
Microcapital
AMMAM, JORDAN, - Limited-income Jordanians and entrepreneurs will soon be able to purchase solar systems through facilitated loans under a recently launched initiative.
Under the scheme launched Thursday, the Jordan Micro Credit Company-Tamweelcom will finance the purchase of solar systems for those with limited-income and small-businesses to increase the use of solar systems across the Kingdom.In turn, participants will pay a minimum monthly instalment of JD26.
The initiative is in line with the country’s National Energy Strategy to boost the country’s reliance on renewable energy, according to Tamweelcom CEO Ziad Rifai.
“By making it easier for a large segment of the population to purchase and use solar systems, the initiative seeks to reduce energy bills and preserve the environment,” Rifai said at the launch ceremony.
The initiative is implemented in cooperation with the National Energy Research Centre (NERC) and Nur Company, a firm specialised in solar technology production. (more…)
Posted on April 8, 2009 - by Gavin
Job insecurity “getting worse”…
My Joy Online
More than half of the world’s workforce lacks job security or benefits, and the number is growing during the downturn.The increased number of workers in the informal sector will have “severe consequences for poverty” in poor countries, the OECD has warned. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), which represents rich countries, says there are now 1.8 billion informal workers.
The number could grow to two-thirds of the workforce by 2020, it warns. Informal economic activity is highest in some of the poorest regions of the world.In sub-Saharan Africa, three-quarters of jobs in the non-agricultural sector come without security, legal rights or any benefits.
In South Asia, the number is two-thirds, while half of those in Latin America work without security. If agricultural labourers were included, the numbers would be even higher, according to the report.
“The financial crisis is throwing many people out of work, and in developing countries with no unemployment protection, they are forced to take informal jobs with low pay, no protection, and high risk exposure,” the OECD says. (more…)
Posted on April 8, 2009 - by Gavin
Whose economy is it, anyway?…
The Ring
Dr. Ana Maria Peredo, director of the UVic-based BC Institute for Co-operative Studies (BCICS), looks beyond the recent bad economic news and sees a precious opportunity to do things differently.
“Maybe this is going to allow us to think about the way we put our economy together,” she explains. “So much of the efforts of governments everywhere seems to be aimed at remaking the economy in the way it was—rebuilding the machine that got us into this mess. Maybe we can rethink our economic life and bring it closer to what we value.”
So what are the options? A wide range of co-operative economy alternatives was explored at a March 7 forum entitled “Remaking the Economy through People’s Eyes,” presented by BCICS and the BC Community Economic Development Network.
It brought together leaders in the field of social economy from UVic, BC and England and more than 200 participants to discuss such topics as co-operatives, community-based health promotion, food sovereignty, ecological economics, participatory economics, Indigenous economic development and social enterprise. Keynote speakers James Tully (UVic), Mark Roseland (SFU), Helen Haugh (University of Cambridge) and Doug Wright (The Co-operators), challenged the forum with a variety of ideas as to the ways in which economies have been made, how they can be made, and how they are being re-made, in Canada and abroad. (more…)
Posted on April 8, 2009 - by Gavin
Micro-Banking Has a Go in the U.S…
Zacks.com
In 2006, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus pioneered “micro-credit” with his Grameen Bank concept in India. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for it. This “new” category of banking focused on small loans to poor people who have no collateral and who do not qualify for conventional bank loans.
Considering the state of the economy with US banks running around like “zombies” refusing to lend, small business owners have been unable to access their traditional credit providers. Forget credit cards — a growing number of small businesses have found another portal available.
With “peer-to-peer lending,” a borrower fills out an application (5-20 minutes to fill out) then the lending club (ex. Lendingclub.com and the national nonprofit microlending organization Accion USA) instantly accesses credit information. (more…)
Posted on April 7, 2009 - by Gavin
Co-founder of microfinance organization Kiva.org to speak Thursday at IU…
Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (April 9) at Indiana University on the topic “Eliminating Poverty: A Conversation About Microfinance.”
Jackley’s presentation will take place in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. Food will be provided by local ethnic restaurants. The public is invited.
The event is being presented by the Trockman Microfinance Initiative, with support from the IU Student Association, the Kelley School of Business’ undergraduate and student government programs, the Center for International Business Education and Research, IU departments of political science and economics, the International Studies Program and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Named as one of the top ideas in 2006 by the New York Times Magazine and called “revolutionary” by the BBC, Kiva.org lets Internet users lend as little as $25 to specific developing world entrepreneurs, providing affordable capital to help them start or expand a small business. (more…)
The MiFi Report
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