Posts Tagged ‘poverty’
Posted on November 9, 2009 - by boris
RDI receives $9 million from Omidyar Network to help bring land rights to the poor…
The Rural Development Institute (RDI) announced that it received a three-year commitment of up to US$9 million from Omidyar Network to help millions of people secure land rights, enabling them to emerge from poverty.
Omidyar Network’s Managing Partner, Matt Bannick, will also join RDI’s board of directors.
“Omidyar Network’s investment will help RDI scale up for greater impact,” said Tim Hanstad, RDI’s President and CEO. “With this grant, RDI will begin implementing an ambitious three-year plan to bring secure land rights to 9 million families living in poverty. These rights can bring about transformative economic and social benefits that improve well-being and restore dignity.”
Source: http://appablog.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/rdi-receives-9-million-from-omidyar-network-to-help-bring-land-rights-to-the-poor-largest-grant-in-rdi-history-will-impact-9-million-families/
Posted on October 27, 2009 - by boris
Malaysia’s Perak State to launch micro-credit financing model to help eradicate poverty…
It was recently reported in Malaysia’s ‘The Star’ online newspaper that the government in the northern state of Perak on the Western Peninsula of Malaysia is to announce details of a ’micro-credit financing model’ to help eradicate poverty during the state assembly sitting currently scheduled for 28 October 2009.
Senior state minister or ‘Mentri Besar’ Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the model would be broadly based on the Grameen methodology. Dr Zambry was quoted as saying that the proposed microfinance model for Perak would focus on giving ‘the hardcore poor’ some financial assistance to start up small businesses.
He also added the microfinance technique employed will have similarities to the microfinance schemes offered by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, one of the more established microfinance institutions in Malaysia.
Source: http://www.microcapital.org/microcapitalorg-story-malaysias-perak-state-to-introduce-microfinance-programme-that-will-target-the-hardcore-poor-and-broadly-adopt-grameen-principles/
Posted on October 14, 2009 - by boris
How will Microfinance reduce world poverty?…
Mary finished College in 2005, but getting a job proved really difficult. As is the case with so many graduates in the country who are unable to find unemployment, many of her colleagues in College had taken to selling their bodies and engaging in all sorts of immoral money-making schemes. But she had a different idea. She had a passion for African fashion, and as a talented designer, she designed some traditional Maasai shoes, and slippers which she had sold to European and American tourists visiting Mombasa. She wanted to delve into it fulltime as a business, but she needed capital to buy the required raw materials needed to kick start her business. She had approached a traditional bank for a loan of $200 to start off, but she was refused the loan.
When a neighbor advised her to approach a local microfinance institution, she did. She presented them with her idea and requested for the loan. They were only too willing to help. With the loan, Mary developed and grew her business. Today, her business is booming. She sells her products through tens of tourists scattered around Mombasa. Tourists and locals alike adore her footwear, and she has been able to create employment for seven more people.
Microfinance should be taken more seriously than ever before, and all who are serious about reducing world poverty should be actively involved. You´ll be surprised how far a few dollars can go to change the future of the world, one person at a time.
Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/123757
Posted on October 8, 2009 - by boris
Does China need microfinance?…
The concept of distributing small loans to the poor has flourished across Asia since its introduction in Bangladesh three decades ago. Yet it has a notably minimal footprint in China.
A casual observer might say China doesn’t need microfinance. After all, it is now the world’s third-largest economy. But beyond the prosperous cities, millions of people still languish in poverty. China has the second-largest number of poor after India. About 254 million people in China lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2005 (as measured in purchasing power parity dollars), according to the World Bank. The income gap is widening between rural and urban areas and has today reached a historical high.
Microfinance is one tool that can reduce this entrenched poverty by providing entrepreneurs with credit, just as it has in other developing countries. Loan sizes would be larger than in India because GDP at purchasing power parity per capita in China is higher at $5,962 versus $2,972 in India, according to 2008 World Bank figures.
But loans would still be used for income-generating activities such as raising livestock, buying materials for micro-businesses and farming, and setting up small trade and services. This is especially pertinent as the government seeks to create a “harmonious society” in part through poverty reduction and human development.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574457922639779290.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Posted on September 23, 2009 - by boris
Small change: It looks like ‘microlending’ doesn’t actually do much to fight poverty…
In the world of international aid, microcredit is a rock star. The practice of giving very poor people very small loans to start very small businesses has been hailed as one of the very few unambiguous success stories in the long, frustrating fight against Third World poverty.
The pioneer of the practice, Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, has disbursed more than $8 billion in unsecured loans, usually in amounts under $100, to people traditional banks ignore.
Along with a 98 percent repayment rate, Grameen has accrued an inspiring collection of stories about its overwhelmingly female borrowers, whose microloans allowed them to start up an embroidery or pottery business, or a snack cart or a stand selling cell phone cards, and through such petty entrepreneurship lift themselves out of poverty. “Small Loans, Big Gains,” a 2002 Globe editorial on microcredit was titled.
Microlending institutions have sprung up all over the developing world, from India to Bolivia to Serbia; by one estimate, over 150 million people worldwide have taken out a microloan. Government aid groups and NGOs have rushed to fund them, and so have Wall Street banks and hedge funds, enticed by the promise of an anti-poverty program that can do so much while paying for itself – and even turning a nice profit.
Grameen Bank and its founder, Mohammad Yunus, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, and Yunus is fond of saying that, thanks to microcredit, his grandchildren will have to go to museums to know what poverty looks like.
Source: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/09/20/small_change_does_microlending_actually_fight_poverty/
Posted on August 28, 2009 - by boris
Is microfinance going the same way as subprime mortgages?…
The notion, popularised by C.K. Prahalad’s best-seller, “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”, that poor people should be seen as potentially profitable customers rather than mere charity cases, has caught on fast in the past few years.
Finding profitable ways to meet the needs of poor people, the idea goes, would not only empower them by making them customers rather than supplicants, it would also attract far more capital than would ever be forthcoming from charity. For the providers of this capital, catering to the bottom of the pyramid promised to be good for the soul as well as the wallet.
A growing number of investors have taken the chance, investing in bottom-of-the-pyramid businesses, of which by far the most popular to date is microfinance—providing loans and other financial services to people ignored as too poor by the traditional banking system. Yet as this idea has spread, it has become increasingly controversial.
Source: http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/businessview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14298996&fsrc=nwl
Posted on August 27, 2009 - by boris
Asia and Pacific countries make progress in reducing poverty…
Asia and Pacific countries continue to make broad progress in reducing extreme poverty but hunger still remains widespread and many economies are struggling to meet other Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including reductions in maternal mortality rates and access to sanitation, latest available data show.
Over the past 15 years, Asia has made rapid progress in the fight against poverty, reducing the number of poor from around one in two people to around one in four. However, large pockets of extreme poverty continue to persist even as many economies have posted record growth rates over that time.
“With the recent global downturn, which has led to large declines in exports, production, and aggregate demand, regional growth will continue to be under severe downward pressure,” said Jong-Wha Lee, ADB Chief Economist. “Slower growth in the short-term will make progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals difficult for many countries in Asia and the Pacific.”
Source: http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2009/12968-adb-key-indicators/
Posted on August 24, 2009 - by boris
Muhammad Yunus etablishes the Yunus Centre at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok…
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is establishing the Yunus Centre at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok which will focus on non-conventional ways to tackle poverty.
In developing countries in Asia, 690 million people live off less than US$1 a day, and many earn their meagre living by subsistence farming. But the global economic crisis and volatile prices of staple foods have made it all the more difficult. Yet there is much that can be done.
Microcredit pioneer, Professor Yunus, who is also the founder of Grameen Foundation, maintains that targeted and sustainable assistance can be a vital key to lifting people out of poverty.
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/449859/1/.html
Posted on August 12, 2009 - by boris
Oprah’s Angel Network helps rural communities in Uganda to overcome hunger and poverty…
Oprah’s Angel Network has awarded a US$50,000 grant to The Hunger Project (THP) to expand the organization’s community mobilization and leadership programs in Uganda. These programs enable rural communities to overcome their own hunger and poverty on a sustainable basis.
THP’s strategies support people in building self-reliant futures free from hunger and poverty.
In Africa, THP works in more than 2,000 villages in eight countries to empower rural women and men to end their own hunger and poverty. In Uganda, more than 180,000 people have participated in THP’s workshops.
Through THP’s unique methodology, communities become food secure; achieve access to healthcare, clean water and safe sanitation; halt the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS; become literate and educate their children; access microfinance services; foster community cooperation; include women as full and equal community members; and transform mindsets of resignation and dependency into a “can-do” spirit.
Source: http://www.cocorioko.net/national/1491-oprahs-angel-network-grant-supports-grassroots-development-in-uganda
Posted on July 6, 2009 - by boris
Budget gives boost to women, child development schemes…
Thaindian News posted:
New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Schemes to improve female literacy, credit support and microfinance to rural women as well as children’s heath and education have been given prime importance in the union budget announced Monday.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme – for providing health, nutrition and education services to children up to six years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers – has been granted Rs.6,705 crore (Rs.67.05 billion) in the budget.
While presenting the budget in parliament, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: “The government is committed to the universalisation of the ICDS scheme in the country. By March 2012, all services under ICDS would be extended with quality to every child under the age of six.”
(more…)
Posted on July 6, 2009 - by boris
Support needed by Microfinance Institutions…
The Economic Times posted:
6th July: The indentity of microfinance of an emerging high potential and influential industry by itself ought to be considered given a place in this years budget, given that the past few years’ budget has seen heavyweight industries like IT, autos, telecom, banking and infrastructure swiftly pushing out the microfinance.
The former Govrenor of the Reserve Bank of India who is now a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, the veteran economist who is also the chairman of Madras School of Economics in Chennai, C rangarajan and his committee on financial inclusion this spring officially declared that Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) “could play a significant role in facilitating inclusion, as they are uniquely positioned in reaching out to the rural poor.”
The government has laid importance on the fact that one important way of reducing poverty in the country is the the way of financial inclusion. MFIs provide everything under financial services, including small loans as well as insurances to numerous unbanked households across the nation, thereby helping in reducing poverty. Despite this, MFIs are kept from reaching their full potential by means of several fiscal constraints.
MFIs do not enjoy tax reductions and other exemptions like the other banks on top of paying service taxes that the poverty stricken public India ends of paying, even though they should be allowed not to do so.
Another way of making the nation less impoverished is proving MFIs better is provisiong them with level playing field, thereby enanbling them to lower interest rates, reaching a bigger customer exposure.
(more…)
Posted on July 2, 2009 - by boris
Merging Policy with Practice to Help India’s Poor…
India
n the subtext of India’s recent economic success story lies “the stubborn statistic of 400 million to 600 million people living in poverty,” according to Shanta Devarajan, chief economist of the World Bank’s South Asia region.
Devarajan spoke as part of a panel discussion on “India’s Underprivileged Majority: The Real Development Story” at the Wharton India Economic Forum, held in Philadelphia in March.
(more…)
Posted on July 2, 2009 - by boris
Rachel’s walk raises £3,000…
Rachel Kosciuszko
AFTER seeing for herself the hardship suffered by many Nepali woman, a 17-year-old student has completed a 50-mile overnight walk in aid of a charity that supports them.
Rachel Kosciuszko, whose parents Stefan and Takako live at Abbas Hall, Cornard Tye, took about 17 hours to walk from Brighton to her school, Charterhouse in Surrey, last Wednesday night and it was straight back to lessons the following day
(more…)
Posted on July 1, 2009 - by Gavin
Economic Policy Tilting Toward the Less Rich…
The Korea Times
In an apparent reaction to criticism, the Lee Myung-bak administration has been adopting a series of policies to appease the less well off. But the move has attracted criticism from chaebol and the rich.
Finance-Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun announced his intention not to cut income and corporate taxes for big business, and then on Tuesday unveiled a 2.1-trillion-package for the poor.
But chaebol lobby group, the Federation of Korean Industries, Tuesday urged the government to adopt a pro-business policy so that companies can create more jobs and increase investment.
The policy U-turn came amid opposition criticism that the Lee administration is a government only for the rich and business groups.
Minister Yoon said it will become easier for the working class to get small loans without collateral, and families with three or more children will be given priority when applying for apartments supplied by the government.
“Difficulties are continuing for the working class as incomes fall, household economies worsen and the job market falters,” the minister said Tuesday. “It will take considerable time until things get easier for the working class, though the economy is showing signs of improvement,” he added. (more…)
Posted on June 30, 2009 - by Gavin
NEWS WIRE: Microfinancing Money and Talent…
Microcapital
Government agencies and international aid groups have long supported programs that train the world’s poor
in how to start and run their own businesses. The training is seen as a way to end hunger and stabilize societies.
Fred Phillips, right, a business adviser with TechnoServe,helping Susana Nsiah and Yaw Dankwa on a cocoa farm in Ghana.Since 1968, TechnoServe has helped small businesses worldwide.
But interest in these programs has grown lately with the wider availability of microloans, or very small enterprise loans made to the poor.
(more…)
Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Gavin
Microinsurance is lucrative, so will it be the next ‘revolution’?…
Digital Journal
Microinsurance works like microfinance: It enables the poor who
live in developing nations to access life insurance, crop
insurance, and insurance for damage caused by natural events.
Commercial insurance firms have realized that they’ve been
overlooking a profitable market segment, but now that they are
aware of what they’ve been missing out on, they are now
capitalizing on the new opportunities.
One organization is leading the pack, having raised some $44
million for the world’s first microinsurance fund.
Before you think that this is strictly a cash grab, consider the
benefits for the poor, who have never been able to afford
insurance before. Farmers will take chances with new seed stocks;
or people who have been devastated by natural disasters such as
hurricanes, floods or other catastrophes will no longer have to
lose everything. And should people wish, they can purchase life
insurance, which would help pay for the rising costs of funerary
services.
Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin
Microinsurance industry sees profits from the poor…
Reuters
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Slum-dweller Krustin bin Juri lost everything
when floodwaters swept through his home and shop on the banks of
Jakarta’s filthy Ciliwung river two years ago.
But when the next flood hits, and it will because Jakarta sees
frequent floods in the rainy season, bin Juri may have a modicum
of protection thanks to a low-cost insurance policy that he
purchased this month.
He is among millions of the world’s poor who are covered for
natural disasters by cheap insurance, or microinsurance, as
commercial firms recognize that insuring the poor is not just
good public relations but also profitable.
Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Gavin
FINO: Bank to the poor…
Business Rediff
Thirty-seven-year-old Sivan Pandiyan had to run from pillar to
post for over seven to eight months to get a meagre Rs 5,000 as
loan from a bank to carry out the maintenance and repair work of
his taxi.
Tested to his limits, Pandiyan finally turned to the Financial
Information Network & Operations Ltd, which came to his
rescue by sanctioning the amount without any hassle.
Thanks to FINO, Pandiyan has been able to repair his taxi to eke
out a living earning Rs 500-1,000 per day.
For many like Pandiyan, FINO has emerged as the helping hand
providing much-needed financial assistance instantaneously,
making it an attractive alternative to banks.
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 22, 2009 - by Gavin
Citibank Arranges Farm Loan For Microfinance Institution In Bangladesh…
Gant Daily
Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) – Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh has
arranged to raise $21.74 million (BDT 1.50 billion) term loan for a
microfinance institution, according to BURO Bangladesh. The
necessary facility document related to the financing is expected to
be signed soon, officials said in the capital, Dhaka on Sunday. In
compliance with Bangladesh Bank directives to expand credit in the
agricultural sector, the entire facility arranged by Citibank,
being the lead arranger, is earmarked for the expansion of BURO’s
agricultural loan portfolio. BURO’s Finance Director M. Mosharrof
Hossain said that 100 per cent of the financing raised from banks
will be directed towards the agricultural sector through
non-governmental organization (NGO)-linking system. “We’ll disburse
the loan to the farmers through our 393 branches across the
country,” Mr. Hossain told AHN in the capital, Dhaka, adding that
the loan will be given to agro-based eight sub-sectors like crops,
irrigation equipment, livestock, agricultural products marketing,
fisheries and poverty alleviation. (more…)
The MiFi Report
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