The theme of the recent Gambia Association Accountants (GAA) conference was ‘Development of Microfinance Capability in the Gambia’.  Extracts of a discourse delivered at the conference discussed how the government of the Gambia has taken measures aimed at ‘further deepening and building more resilient and sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs)’ in recent years. The government has drafted a bill to regulate and supervise microfinance activities, reviewed microfinance policy guidelines and the Financial Institutions Act, and approved various microfinance projects.   Continue Reading »

Event Name: Rural Microfinance: Strategies for Reaching the Underserved

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Cost: Participants pay 2,000 Mexican pesos + VAT. This event is free for donor agency representatives, however they must still register.

Summary of Event: This conference will bring together Mexican credit union practitioners and donor agencies from around the worldwide to discuss the role of microfinance in fighting rural poverty. It will also showcase the outreach efforts of rural credit unions and how adaptable these are to other regions.   Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development institution that fosters private sector investment in 30 countries in Central Europe and Central Asia, is lending USD 10 million to Minsk Transit Bank (MTB), a commercial bank established in 1994 and based in Minks, Belarus. According to Moody’s, MTB reported total assets of USD 150 million in 2007. MTB is one of six EBRD partner banks in Belarus. The five-year loan to MTB will be used to lend to privately-owned micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs). As stated by the EBRD, the funding is to help small businesses in the country weather the crisis. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Encuentro Centroamericano de Microfinanzas

Date: September 9 -11, 2009

Location: Real InterContinental Hotel, San Salvador, El Salvador

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »

The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has announced that it will continue to further develop its microfinance operations through additional acquisitions of rural banks. It is looking to buy rural banks in the northern Luzon and Visayas regions of the Philippines. RCBC president and chief executive Mr Lorenzo Tan said that “we’re looking to expand microfinance and we started this month. It can contribute five to ten percent to our bottom line in five years”.   Continue Reading »

The Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund has approved a USD 2 million loan and USD 150,000 in technical cooperation to help Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Regional (CIDRE) to expand access to credit and other financial services for small producers, micro and small enterprises and rural communities in Bolivia. The funding will allow CIDRE to expand its loan portfolio, as well as assist in the transition into a regulated microfinance institution (MFI). Continue Reading »

Global Partnerships (GP), a Seattle non-profit organization founded in 1994 that funds microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America, has received a USD 180,000 grant to help manage its loan funds. The three-year grant comes from the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust, a private grantmaking foundation for the Pacific Northwest based in Vancouver, Washington and established in 1975. As of 2007, GP has fund assets worth USD 10.5 million whereas the Murdoch Trust had USD 892 million in assets. As stated in GP’s press release, elements of the grant-supported project will include building GP’s staff capacity to manage the growth of its funds, broadening GP’s base of investors, and creating a knowledge management system to manage and analyze fund data. This project is part of GP’s greater objective to augment management of its three investment funds and improve its management and tracking of fund data. Moreover, GP plans to expand into Mexico this summer, its eighth country. As stated on the Murdoch Trust’s website, the grant will primarily be used to hire a new director of investment operations to manage GP’s microfinance investment programs. Continue Reading »

Mi-Pay, a mobile money company based in the United Kingdom, has recently announced that it has partnered with Small World Financial Services (a global money transfer business based in Europe) to globally expand mobile money payment solutions.  The partnership will focus on providing operators with solutions for international prepay phone top-up and global money transfer functionality to over 30 countries.  No additional information regarding how the network will function or its scope is provided.

According to Business Intelligence Middle East, a business information company based in Dubai, the partnership with Small World and Mi-Pay would provide a mix of operational, regulatory consultation, business and technical processes, and market knowledge to facilitate mobile money payment solutions globally.  Mobile phone top-up is a recharge service that allows customers in one country to buy airtime for people in different countries via the Internet or on a foreign mobile network for prepaid mobile phones.  Mi-Pay’s global top-up service hub will also provide Small World the ability to offer international prepay phone airtime to its customers.  In turn Mi-Pay will be able to extend its services into new countries and regions while leveraging the distribution network to work earlier with clients in the regulatory, compliance and payment process. Continue Reading »

Several international finance organizations have invested in a new microfinance institution, AccessBank Tajikistan.  Access Microfinance Holding AG (AccessHolding) will hold a majority stake in the new bank, and international investors including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) will invest a total of USD 11 million for equity stakes.  AccessBank Tajikistan will launch operations in late 2009 in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. Continue Reading »

Mobile Money Transfer, Conference and Expo, October 26-27 2009, Dubai

October 26-27 2009, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »

According to a 2008 annual report, the CRDB Microfinance Services Company (CRDB MF) made an annual profit, before taxes, of USD 192,000. CRDB MF also reports the amount of loans disbursed throughout the year as USD 36.6 million and the outstanding loan portfolio as USD 44.1 million. CRDB MF does not directly lend to clients, but works with Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS), Savings and Credit Associations (SACAS), financial non-government organizations (NGOs), and Community Banks to disburse loans, provide technical support, and facilitate bank accounts. In 2008, 31 MFIs joined CRDB MF bringing the total of partner organizations to 376. Cumulatively, the MFIs operate in 109 districts and serve 489,030 clients. CRDB MF, founded in 2004, is the microfinance division of CRDB Bank, a private commercial bank founded in 1996 in Tanzania. CRDB Bank’s largest individual stakeholder is the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), which owns 30 percent of the bank. Private individuals own 37 percent of the bank. MicroCapital has previously reported on CRDB Bank’s USD 52 million loan to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), a government company.   Continue Reading »

The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), a program of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has released its first annual report. The report describes the first year as being spent setting the basic foundations for the ISFD including establishing procedures and developing guidelines. The original target of the fund was USD 10 billion with contributions to be made by IDB and IDB member countries. As at the end of 2008 USD 2.61 billion had been pledged.  This comprised of USD 1.61 billion from 36 member countries and USD 1 billion from the IDB. Saudi Arabia had committed USD 1 billion, Kuwait USD 300 million and Iran USD 100 million. MicroCapital first reported on the launch of this fund in March 2008.   Continue Reading »

Source: NY Times
Continue Reading »

Investments in Microfinance: Surviving the Liquidity Crisis & Ensuring Sustainable Growth Conference

7-9 July 2009, Grange City Hotel, London, UK

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »

Source: Reuters
Continue Reading »

In an article on Pakistan’s ‘The Nation’ online news portal, reporter Saadia Qamar makes a number of important observations on microfinance based on a publication by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) entitled ‘Towards Achieving Social and Financial Sustainability - A study on the performance of microfinance in Pakistan’. The publication is not currently available in the public domain. According to the report in The Nation, results of the SBP study reinforces a point that has been made on many prior occasions in both informal and scientific contexts; namely that the provision of microcredit alone is not always sufficient to alleviate the socio-economic problems of poor households. Continue Reading »

An article by Mr. Sunanda Creagh in the Khaleej Times has highlighted important tensions in the microinsurance sector. As noted by senior World Bank insurance specialist, Mr. Craig Thorburn, interest in microinsurance has grown dramatically in recent years. As reported in a previous Microcapital Story, the LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund recently raised USD 44 million for what was billed as the world’s first microinsurance fund. Commercial firms have recognized the profit potential of the microinsurance industry. The article observed that global insurance provider AIG earns about 17 percent of its profits through microinsurance premiums from clients in Uganda. Continue Reading »

The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) will be held September 22-25, 2009 in New York City. GGI is introducing four new Action Areas this year, including the Financing a Sustainable Future program. Under this Action Area, participants will discuss and make “Commitments to Action” on impact investing in micro, small and medium enterprises, housing in developing countries, climate adaptations, and microinsurance. Continue Reading »