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Friday, January 27, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation’s Bankers Without Borders Alliance Partners With Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions On Financial Forecasting Tools, Management Information Systems

The Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI), a nonprofit trade group, has become the sixth partner in the Bankers Without Borders (BwB) Alliance, a volunteer program started by the US-based Grameen Foundation. Continue Reading »

Friday, January 27, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Technical Assistance Facility of Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II Receives $2.4m from French Public Finance Institution Agence Française de Développement (AFD)

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), a French public development finance institution, has donated EUR 1.8 million (USD 2.4 million) in technical assistance (TA) funding to Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II. Valued at EUR 120 million (USD 173 million), Rural Impulse Fund II is one of two funds managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management that invest in rural microfinance institutions [1].  Continue Reading »

Friday, January 27, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Founder Damian von Stauffenberg is First to be Named to LuxFLAG Microfinance Label Eligibility Committee

The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, recently announced that Mr Damian von Stauffenberg, the founder of US-based microfinance rating agency MicroRate, has been named to the eligibility committee of LuxFlag’s Microfinance Label [1]. Continue Reading »

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II, Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds Acquire Shares of AzerCredit of Azerbaijan

Rural Impulse Fund II, which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, and Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds, have acquired an equity stake in Azercredit, an Azerbaijani microfinance institution (MFI) with a rural focus. Continue Reading »

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance CEO Working Group Issues Road Map for Microfinance Industry Promoting Smart Campaign, Microfinance Transparency, Social Performance Task Force

A group of eight CEOs of nonprofit microfinance organizations has issued a “Road Map for the Microfinance Industry: Focusing on Responsible and Client-Centered Microfinance.” Continue Reading »

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Piloting Peer-to-Peer Microfinance Lending Platform Kiva Zip in Kenya, San Francisco

Kiva, a US-based microfinance intermediary, is launching a new platform, Kiva Zip, enabling users to lend directly to microentrepreneurs around the world. Continue Reading »

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Lends $1.5m to Microfinance Institutions Tuba Rai Metin of East Timor; Humo and Partners, Arvand of Tajikistan

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based nongovernmental organization, has reported to MicroCapital that it has issued a three-year loan of USD 300,000 to Tuba Rai Metin (TRM), a microfinance institution (MFI) in East Timor [1]. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: K-Rep Bank of Kenya Spends $600k on Temenos IT System to Integrate Branch Data

K-Rep Bank, a Kenyan commercial bank focused on providing services to poor people, has spent an estimated KES 50 million (USD 582,000) to upgrade to a software system from Switzerland’s Temenos called “T24 for Microfinance and Community Banking” [1].  Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Liberia Launches $2.7m Loan Facility For Microfinance Institutions to be Implemented By Afriland First Bank, Backed By United Nations Development Program

As part of its Liberian Inclusive Financial Sector (LIFS) Project, which is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has launched a LRD 200 million (USD 2.7 million) “Loan Extension Assistance Facility” (LEAF) economic stimulus initiative which targets Liberian microfinance institutions [1]. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Reports 198 Banks Have Lent $165m to 964k Borrowers in the Philippines

According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the central bank of the Philippines, 198 banks in the Philippines have lent PHP 7.15 billion (USD 165 million) to 963,717 microborrowers during the year ending June 2011. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Inks $45m Investment in Habitat for Humanity Housing Initiative, Microbuild Fund

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance agency of the US government, has finalized its commitment to issue a 10-year loan of USD 45 million to the Microbuild Fund, a Habitat for Humanity initiative to provide loans via microfinance institutions for poor people to improve their housing situations and funding for related technical support [1] [2]. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Obopay, Warid Telecom Partner to Launch Warid Pesa Mobile Banking and Payment Service in Uganda

Obopay, a mobile payments company headquartered in the US state of California, has partnered with Warid Telecom, a Pakistan-based postpaid cellular phone service provider, to launch a mobile banking and payment service in Uganda called Warid Pesa. Continue Reading »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Health Insurer Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) Boosts Client Retention With Discounted Outpatient Services, Also to Launch Cashless Health Delivery With Swasth India

Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), an education and development organization based in Mumbai, India, has found that offering discounted outpatient services to health insurance clients is linked with customer retention. Continue Reading »

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Merar Offers $3m Investment in Microfinance Project in Swaziland

Merar, an emerging markets investment network, has listed the opportunity to invest up to USD 3 million in an unspecified start-up microfinance project in Swaziland. Continue Reading »

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Banks in Nigeria Estimate Losses $14.9m Due to 6-Day Strike Against Removal of Fuel Subsidies

A 6-day strike in response to the removal of fuel subsidies in Nigeria has reportedly cost microfinance banks (MFBs) NGN 2.4 billion (USD 14.9 million) in expected inflows. Continue Reading »

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions in Andhra Pradesh Request Extension to Meet New Capital Adequacy Ratios Imposed by Reserve Bank of India

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh (AP) reportedly have requested that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extend the deadline for MFIs to meet its new capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirements. Continue Reading »

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions in China Report $58b in Outstanding Loans

As of November 2011, China’s microfinance industry reportedly included 4,144 microfinance institutions with CNY 23 billion (USD 3.6) in profits and CNY 369.4 billion (58 billion) of outstanding loans. Continue Reading »

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mikrofond, Microfinance Centre, Citi Foundation Collaborate on Financial Education Project in Bulgaria

Mikrofond Aktzionerno Druzhestvo, a Bulgarian microfinance institution (MFI); Microfinance Centre, a Poland-based network of MFIs; and Citi Foundation, a US-based organization supporting financial inclusion prepare 25 Bulgarian microfinance trainers to give financial education workshops and counseling sessions to poor people in both rural and urban areas. Continue Reading »