Posts Tagged ‘microcapital’
Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: New Professional Body for the Microfinance Sector Launches in the United Kingdom
Microcapital
The Microfinance Association, a global professional body that
will cater to the needs of practitioners in the microfinance
sector, has been established in the United Kingdom. Membership in
the association is open to all practitioners working in the
microfinance sector worldwide, not just to those in the UK.
The association plans to offer its members an information center,
a career advice center, and a knowledge management center. The
information center will provide information such as links and
resources to rating agencies, market information, microfinance
news, information on government agencies, forums and conferences,
training and research, and networking opportunities.
The career advice center will provide resources such as tips on
structuring a CV, successful interviewing strategies, sample
interview questions, and a job search function. The knowledge
management center will provide research, newsletters and
publications from leaders in the industry such as CGAP,
Microfinance Insights, and the Journal of Microfinance. At the
time of this story most of these services were not yet available.
Posted on June 12, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund 2008 Invests $1.75m in South American MFIs FODEMI, Fundacion D-MIRO and Prisma…
Microcapital
The Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund 2008 (GP MFF 2008), a member of the Global Partnerships family of funds, reported three investments in April 2009 to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook, the monthly report on microfinance market transactions. Equadorian microfinance institutions (MFIs) FODEMI and Fundacion D-MIRO each received USD 500,000 in debt while Peruvian MFI Asociacion Benefica PRISMA received USD 750,000 in debt. MicroCapital previously reported on the launch of the GP MFF 2008 in November 2008.
FODEMI was founded in 1995 as a non-profit organization authorized by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Labor. Based in Ibarra, Ecuador and maintaining a network of seven branches, FODEMI is affliated with World Vision, a Christian international development organization. According to the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse, FODEMI serves 13,969 active borrowers and maintains a gross loan portfolio of USD 6 million as of December 2007. Total assets were reported as USD 6.2 million with a return on assets of 4.1 percent and a debt/equity ratio of 110.76 percent.
Services offered by FODEMI offers technical assistance to clients as well as short-term loans in the form of individual loans, community banks consisting of 10 to 20 people, and solidarity groups consisting of 3 to 6 people. FODEMI launched two projects in 2004 with funding from AusAID, the Australian government’s overseas aid program. The Cotopaxi Banca Mujer Project focuses on providing credit to women in the Cotopaxi area while the Poverty Reduction Project promotes the formation of community banks in Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. (more…)
Posted on June 8, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROFINANCE EVENT: World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Annual Conference, Barcelona, July 26-29, 2009…
Microcapital
Event Name: World Credit Union Conference, Barcelona 09
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: Members USD 1,195; Non Members USD 1,395. A 7% VAT tax will be added at the time of registration. A discount of USD 100 is available for Developing Movement Countries, Under 35 Scholarships and Regulators. The conference fee includes the opening ceremony, welcome reception, general sessions, breakout session, closing night, 5 lunches and 1 dinner.
Summary of Event: This is an annual conference where key players throughout the global credit union community gather to network and discuss best practices. Session topics will cover almost every aspect of credit union operations and culture.
Background on Organizer: The WOCCU consists of 49,000 credit unions with over 177 million members in 96 countries. It was incorporated in 1971 and has its headquarters in Wisconsin, USA. The mission of the WOCCU is to assist its members and potential members to efficiently and successfully develop and run credit unions worldwide, empowering populations through access to quality and affordable financial services. Credit unions are democratic, member-owned financial cooperatives that operate as not-for-profits and use excess earnings to offer members affordable loans, returns on savings, low fees and access to other banking products and services. (more…)
Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Gavin
PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Funds Continue to Grow Despite the Crisis, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)…
Microcapital
According to recent CGAP research report, microfinance funds have not been severely impacted by the global financial crisis.The report acknowledges that while emerging market funds have experienced a 20 percent sell-off, microfinance investment funds (MIVs) experienced positive returns in 2008.In fact, assets in the top 10 microfinance investment funds grew by 32 percent in 2008.The report is based on UBS Investment Research regarding economic comment on the state of the emerging markets, CGAP and Symbiotic’s (a microfinance investment advisor) research on the top 10 microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), and the historical performance of euro-denominated funds as obtained from the Symbiotics Microfinance Index EUR.
As of December 2008, there were 104 active microfinance funds with total assets under management of USD 6.5 billion.CGAP notes that the industry is very concentrated (private equity funds, holding of microfinance banks, fixed income funds, structure finance vehicles and a broad range of institutions) with the top 10 funds holding about 60 percent of the asset base.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, as well as other Development investors are presently active in the microfinance community and have been strengthening their portfolios in response to the credit crisis.Retail investors have also contributed to the growth of microfinance funds in 2008.For example, a retail-oriented fund, the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund has increased by 17 percent since September 2008 and 96 percent for the year.
Posted on May 25, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Sahara Mutual Fund of India Launches Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) as a Microfinance Saving Scheme…
Microcapital
Sahara Mutual Fund (SMF), an asset management company, has lodged a draft offer document with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to create the Sahara Daily Fund (SDF). The SDF will be a daily systematic investment plan (SIP) where people can invest with a minimum of 10 Indian Rupees (Rs.) (USD 0.20). The SDF is aimed at providing daily wage earners with a microfinance saving scheme. Units are purchased and can be traded on any business day. There will be a dividend option (payout or reinvestment) and a growth option. Dividends will be distributed, subject to profits being available, based on the units held by the account holder.
The SDF will invest in debt and debt related instruments to generate returns with low levels of risk. No more than 10 percent of its net assets will be in foreign securities. The collection of cash will be made using mobile technology through authorized collection agents. The fund will charge an entry load of 2.25 percent and 1 percent exit load if redeemed within one year. This will reduce to 0.5 percent if redeemed after one year but before two years and there will be no exit load if redeemed after two years.
Naresh Garg, chief executive officer of Sahara Mutual Fund said, “There are several micro-credit schemes available in the country for the poor, but there are hardly any micro-savings schemes available.” In India self help groups (SHGs) are the predominant method of microfinance savings and loans. (more…)
Posted on May 22, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation Helps ACDI/VOCA’s CredAgro in Azerbaijan Improve Corporate Governance…
Microcapital
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced on its website that Azerbaijani microfinance institution CredAgro, will join the IFC’s Azerbaijani Corporate Governance Project. As part of the program IFC will advise and train directors, managers, and key shareholders of the institution. IFC will also help revise corporate documents, improve financial reporting and information disclosure, internal control, and internal audit functions.
Tania Lozansky, Head of Advisory Services for Europe and Central Asia at the IFC said, “We believe that better corporate governance at microfinance institutions will further benefit the ultimate customers and small and micro entrepreneurs, in particular, in the rural areas.”
The Azerbaijani Corporate Governance Project is funded by the Swiss Government’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The project is ultimately intended to help local companies and banks enhance their operations and attract financing and investment by providing consultation on a wide range of corporate governance topics. To view a list of corporate governance topics the project advises on, or to request free model corporate governance documents, click here. For more information on the project call 497 7698 or email: lhuseynova@ifc.org (more…)
Posted on May 7, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Bangladesh Microcredit Regulatory Agency (MRA) Limits Interest Rates for Microfinance Institutions…
Microcapital
At a meeting recently held at the Bangladesh Bank, the Microcredit Regulatory Agency (MRA) of Bangladesh announced that microfinance institutions (MFIs) will have to limit the interest rates they charge clients to a flat 15 percent or an effective rate of 30 percent. An MRA official said that the move is an interim measure, and that the MRA will announce a final interest rate policy for MFIs after “conducting an in-depth study”. In addition to the limits on interest rates the MRA announced that MFIs cannot collect deposits totaling more than 80 percent of their total outstanding loan portfolio, in order to prevent financial fraud. Additionally, according to a senior MRA official, MFIs will be empowered to purchase any fixed asset on the basis of the executive committee’s approval instead of the board of director’s consent. The MRA also asked that NGOs offering microfinance separate their microfinance activities from other business activities otherwise all of their business activities will fall under the monitoring and supervision of the MRA.
The differing limits on interest rates imposed by the MRA results from the method of calculating flat interest payments used by many microfinance institutions. In contrast to calculating interest payments off of the declining balance of the loan, some MFIs charge flat interest rates on the original amount of the loan, even as the loan balance declines. The result is an effective interest rate substantially higher than the stated flat rate, thus the MRA’s dual restriction of 15 percent flat and 30 percent effective. Because microfinance clients are often illiterate and financially inexperienced (or too trusting of the local NGO), flat interest rates sound appealing. By imposing a limit on both flat and effective rates the MRA is trying to regulate against this deceptiveness. (more…)
Posted on April 29, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Yemen’s Social Fund for Development (SFD) to Serve 100,000 Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance Programs…
Microcapital
The Social Fund for Development (SFD), an agency established by the government of Yemen to implement social and economic development programs, announced a strategic plan to reach 100,000 micro and small entrepreneurs (MSEs) by 2012. The SFD is supporting microfinance programs in Yemen in the belief that MSEs will help to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment in the country.
Yemen is the least developed country in the Middle East, with a GDP per capita of USD 2,400. Approximately 40 percent of the population of 23.8 million lives below the poverty line. According to a report released by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), there were 40,000 MSEs in Yemen in 2007, of which the majority were microenterprises (90.7 percent) and owned by men (98.5 percent). The report also found that only 3.5 percent of the population had an account with a formal financial institution, and only 29.9 percent of MSEs had used formal financial services of any kind.
The SFD was established in 1997 to support implementation of the government’s plans for social and economic development. The SFD is an administratively and financially autonomous agency governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar. The SFD has three main programs; 1) the Community Development Program increases access to basic social and economic infrastructure, 2) the Capacity Building Program helps build the capacity of local partners, including communities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, consultants and contractors, and 3) the Small and Microenterprise Development Program provides microfinance services through intermediaries such as NGOs and develops financial and nonfinancial services for small entrepreneurs. (more…)
Posted on April 28, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Bangladeshi Society for Social Services (SSS) Subsidizes Health Microinsurance Scheme with Microfinance and Investment Profits…
Microcapital
This article on the Society for Social Services (SSS) Health Microinsurance (HMI) program is the third in a series of MicroCapital case studies on HMI schemes in Bangladesh. Previously, MicroCapital reported on the HMI schemes of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC MHIB) and Grameen Kalyan. The Grameen Kalyan article explained that public health services in Bangladesh are urban-based, elite-biased, and curative-oriented (p.vi), and that the World Health Organization (WHO) identified inadequate healthcare financing mechanisms to be one of the biggest obstacles to improving health outcomes of the poor.
The Society for Social Services (SSS) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that was established in the Tangail district of central Bangladesh in 1986. It has since expanded to serve 12 districts of Bangladesh. SSS’ principle focus is its microfinance program, which was established in 1992. However, it also has programs in agriculture, fisheries, child development and education, and prevention of child labor.
SSS Health Program began in January 1996, in response to 16 childbirth-related deaths of SSS borrowers and staff. Within a year, SSS established a 20-bed hospital in a rented house in the town of Tangail. The hospital was financed through donations from numerous philanthropies and SSS staff, each of which donated a week’s salary. In January 2004, SSS upgraded to a 52-bed hospital with technical and financial assistance from Dutch charity Terre des Hommes (TdH). SSS also operates 16 rural clinics. Each clinic has one non-graduate full-time paramedic called a Health Assistant, and a part-time female Traditional Birth Assistant (TBAs). Qualified medical practitioners from the hospital visit the rural clinics once or twice a month. (more…)
Posted on April 17, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Caspian Advisors-Managed India Financial Inclusion Fund (IFIF) Raises Additional $20m for Investment in Microfinance Institutions…
Microcapital
The India Financial Inclusion Fund (IFIF), an off-shore equity fund, has raised USD 20 million in capital, taking its total fund size to USD 58 million. IFIF focuses on equity investments in Indian companies that are “directly or indirectly associated with bringing about the inclusion of the poor within the formal financial system.”
Set up in Mauritius in August 2008, IFIF invests in high-growth microfinance institutions, such as Ujjivan and Equitas, and microfinance enablers, such as A Little World, the developer of India’s first domestic payment system with specific focus on reaching the ‘bottom of the pyramid’.
IFIF is managed by Caspian Advisors, an investment management and advisory services company which manages funds in the financial inclusion space. Caspian was established in Hyderabad, India in 2004 and currently manages two funds – the IFIF and the Bellwether Microfinance Fund, a USD 20 million Indian microfinance venture fund created in May 2005.
Although no specific information was provided on the source of the IFIF’s new capital, a list of investors in the fund was released. These investors include responsAbility, a social investment firm that has invested over USD 434 million in microfinance, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) which has invested over USD 422 million in microfinance, Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, a fund of funds which currently has a microfinance portfolio of USD 75 million, and its sister fund the Global Microfinance EquityFund (GMEF), as well as an unnamed US institutional investor. (more…)
Posted on April 16, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Muhammad Yunus and Bill Clinton will be Keynote Speakers at Second Annual Georgetown Global Forum…
Microcapital
Second Annual Global Forum to Examine Development in the Midst of Economic Downturn
April 17, 2009, Grand Hyatt New York, 109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY
Muhammad Yunus and President Bill Clinton will be Keynote Speakers at the Second Annual Geogetown Global Forum, which will examine development in the midst of the global financial crisis. Muhammad Yunus founded Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI), the Grameen Bank in 1976, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in combination with the MFI in 2006. The Forum will bring together leaders from microfinance and other fields for five panel discussions in search of successful strategies for addressing some of the world’s pressing challenges, including poverty, access to education and global health.
The Georgetown Global Forum will be sponsored by Georgetown University and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. An event schedule and a list of panelists is provided below. For a more thorough schedule of events and list of panelists, please refer to this link. Online registration for the Forum is closed, however it will be streamed live online via this link. More information on the event can be found at the Georgetown Global Forum homepage. (more…)
Posted on March 20, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Pakistani Microfinance Institutions Charged with Deceiving Borrowers…
Microcapital
Pakistani Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) found themselves in heavy criticism at a workshop on the state of microfinance held in Islamabad. The workshop was organized by the Planning Commission of the Government of Pakistan to revisit the policies in place for MFIs and determine recommendations for the future of the industry.
As reported by TheNews.com, a group of farmers visited the workshop and accused MFIs of misleading them into taking loans by promising that tube wells, roads, and schools would follow. The farmers said that while the MFI’s promises have gone unfulfilled, the borrowers are now trapped in a cycle of debt and required to pay what they feel are exorbitant interest rates of 25 to 30 percent. These interest rates, although they would seem high to newcomers to the industry, are fairly close to the worldwide average microfinance interest rate, which this World Bank paper estimated to be 25 percent for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The farmers lamented that each of them began with loans of USD 125 for a duration of six months, and after five years are in debt between USD 745 to USD 1242. In order to meet their payments, the farmers had to sell their produce and other assets. In the intervening period, they were required to borrow from MFI National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) at a 100 percent mark up to repay the original loan. According to the article published by TheNews.com, the MFIs responded to the criticisms by saying that beyond these stories of failure, there are also success stories. (more…)
Posted on March 19, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Equitas Micro Finance Gets Transaction Securitized and Rated by CRISIL, Structured and Arranged by the Institute for Financial Management and Research…
Microcaptal
Equitas Micro Finance India announced it has completed a microloan backed rated securitization worth USD 3.0m. According to a press release in the Economic Times, the pass-through certificates are rated by CRISIL and backed by microloan receivables originated by Equitas. CRISIL is an Indian rating company and a division of Standard and Poor’s.
The Series A1 certificates are rated AA(so) and the Series A2 certificates are rated BBB(so). IFMR, the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, structured and arranged the transaction. The COO of Equitas, S. Baskar, commented “traditionally MFIs in India have had to access only banks for debt raising, placing limitations. This transaction would open a new window to the industry to raise debt from those banks which do not generally participating (sic) in funding to MFIs”.
Securitization of microloan receivables such as this one have been previously absent in India due to the unique aspects of microloans which include short maturities, origination risk resulting from the short maturities, the key role and risk of the MFI as servicer, and the lack of standardized ratings.
Instead Indian banks typically purchase an MFI’s microloans without housing the assets or issuing securities backed by the loans, such as the recent USD 38 million transaction SKS Microfinance completed with ICICI bank, the second largest bank in India. CDO transactions, in which loans to various MFI’s are pooled together, have been another common alternative to pass-through certificates for microfinance organizations. (more…)
Posted on March 18, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Challenges to Regulation of Mobile Transaction Services, E-Money, and other Branchless Banking Technologies…
Microcapital
In March 2007, when Kenyan cellphone service provider Safaricom launched its mobile payment service M-Pesa (‘M’ for mobile; ‘Pesa’ meaning money in Swahili), it predicted the service would attract 450 thousand customers by January 2008. The service caught on, and fast. When January 2008 rolled around, M-Pesa had more than doubled its goal, registering more than 1 million users in ten months. People began using M-Pesa credits to pay for everything from well water to cab fare. According to Wired magazine, almost a third of Kenya’s population now pays their electricity bills via mobile device.
M-Pesa has now registered over 5 million users, and continues to register 10 thousand more each day. As discussed in this MicroCapital article, many banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs), such as Equity Bank in Kenya, have begun to adopt cellphone cash-transfer services as a way to minimize administrative costs and penetrate markets otherwise unreachable by traditional banking.
Mobile transaction services, e-money, and other branchless banking technologies have also flourished in a number of developing nations beyond Kenya, most notably Brazil, India, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Russia, and Colombia. However, where the rapid growth of branchless banking has sparked the imagination of many, others’ optimism is shadowed by apprehension and concern that inadequate regulation in the nascent industry may place customers’ already vulnerable finances at risk. (more…)
Posted on March 11, 2009 - by Gavin
AfDB says has enough capital for next 5 years…
Reuters
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has sufficient capital to lend to members over the next five years and will double annual lending to $11 billion to help countries deal with the global downturn, its president said.
The bank normally provides loans and grant handouts worth $5.5 billion per year but expects more countries to turn to it for financial aid as the crisis spreads across the continent.
“The scenario for the crisis is to double that to come to around $10 to $11 billion. We have in place the emergency liquidity facility — $1.5 billion, the trade financing facilities — $1 billion, and fast tracking the $2 billion or thereabouts to poorer countries,” AfDB President Donald Kaberuka told Reuters in an interview.
“That will leave a gap and that will be filled from our own capital resources. That is why it requires that we begin discussions on capital replenishment quickly, maybe around 2011,” he said on the sidelines of an International Monetary Fund conference.
Kaberuka has warned there were signs that microcredit for Africa’s poorest, which had withstood the initial stages of the crisis, was now dwindling and he now feared rising social unrest. (more…)
Posted on March 11, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos Bank in The Netherlands Announces Launch of the Triodos Microfinance Fund with EUR 22m in its First Close…
Microcapital
Triodos Bank based in The Netherlands announced the launch of the Triodos Microfinance Fund, a new fund that would aim to increase access to financial services for the working poor in developing countries. According to a press release on the bank’s website, the fund was launched with a total investment of EUR 22 million in its first close. Investors include the Netherlands-based insurance company Achmea, the largest fund manager for charities in the UK CCLA Investment Management Ltd. and the UK-based independent grant-making foundation The Waterloo Foundation.
Triodos will meet the need for new capital from its existing microfinance partners as well as new partners experiencing strong growth in demand for financial services from low-income population. According to the press release, Triodos is planning a launch to individual investors shortly. The fund is open for institutional investors across Europe. Triodos bank expects the new microfinance fund to grow to EUR 100 million by the end of 2009 and EUR 200 million by 2011.
As per information available on the new fund’s investment policy, 80 percent of investments will be towards established microfinance institutions (MFIs) with proven track record and the remaining 20 percent on start-up MFIs. The expected allocation would be 30 percent equity and 70 percent debt. The geographic scope of the fund would be the Latin American, African, Asian and Eastern European regions. (more…)
Posted on February 12, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: 2009 Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Policy Conference to be held in Washington D.C. from March 1-3…
2009 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Policy Conference
March 1-3, 2009
The 2009 CDFI Institute Policy Conference will be held in Washington D.C., USA from March 1-3, 2009. The three day conference, which will feature dialogue with community development finance experts about issues facing the field of development finance, will be held at The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia hotel. Participants at the event include policy makers, CDFI members, socially responsible investors, pension funds and banks. The event website can be found here.
The CDFI Coalition was formed in 1992 as an ad-hoc policy development and advocacy initiative. Through member organizations, the Coalition represents CDFIs working in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The event begins with an hour long welcome reception by the CDFI Board members on March 1. This will be followed by a series of panel discussions and presentations on the second and third day of the event. Subjects for the panel discussion include:
-Policy responses to enhance liquidity of development financial institutes during the financial crisis
-Socially responsible investing and its impact of development financial institutes
-Expansion of the CDFI Fund. The CDFI Fund is administered by the Department of Treasury and makes capital grants, equity investments and awards for technical assistance to community development financial institutions… [click here to read the rest of this article...]
Posted on February 9, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Infamous Brother of Ugandan President Floods Microfinance Market with $133m of Subsidized Capital Over 5 Years…
AllAfrica.com reported that Salim Saleh, the current Ugandan State Minister for Microfinance announced that the Government of Uganda (GoU) has set aside 262 billion shillings (or USD 133.7 million) to be delivered as subsidized low-interest loans through the Microfinance Support Center (MSC), to Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCO), to individuals and small businesses. MSC is a government owned limited liability company set up to aid in management of rural microfinance. The announcement was made at the launch of the MSC’s five-year strategic plan. “This company has 40 billion shillings (USD 20.4 million) for the next five months and it can loan out 9 billion shillings (USD 4.6 million) each month,” said Mr. Saleh. This budget is up from January when MSC Director, Mr. Mutebi Kityo announced that the company was prepared to loan out USD 3.5 million by February 10. Financial information is not available regarding MSC’s previous activities.
SACCOs are organizations that accept deposits and extend microloans to individuals and small businesses. Through the GoU’s economic develop project called “Prosperity for All,” launched in 2007, money is distributed through SACCOs to poor individuals… [click here to read the rest of this article...]
Posted on February 6, 2009 - by Gavin
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Infamous Brother of Ugandan President Floods Microfinance Market with $133m of Subsidized Capital Over 5 Years…
AllAfrica.com reported that Salim Saleh, the current Ugandan State Minister for Microfinance announced that the Government of Uganda (GoU) has set aside 262 billion shillings (or USD 133.7 million) to be delivered as subsidized low-interest loans through the Microfinance Support Center (MSC), to Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCO), to individuals and small businesses. MSC is a government owned limited liability company set up to aid in management of rural microfinance. The announcement was made at the launch of the MSC’s five-year strategic plan. “This company has 40 billion shillings (USD 20.4 million) for the next five months and it can loan out 9 billion shillings (USD 4.6 million) each month,” said Mr. Saleh… [click here to read the rest of this article...]
Posted on September 14, 2008 - by James
Microcapital: The implications of a poverty line change in Asia…
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) both released studies recently that offer new definitions of international poverty. The original “$1-a-day Poverty Line” is a global poverty line for absolute poverty that was set by the World Bank in 1990, and is adjusted for various purchasing power parities (PPP). PPPs are conversion factors that ensure a common purchasing power over a given set of goods and services. People living at or below these poverty lines are said to be inextreme poverty.
The poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion (one in two) in 1981. At first glance these broad stats seem promising. Yet in South Asia for example, the reductions have not kept pace with population growth; there were actually more poor people living in this region in 2005 than in the 1980s. “The sobering news-that poverty is more pervasive than we thought-means that we must… [click here to read the rest of this article...]
The MiFi Report
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