A recent report from Bangladesh’s Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), a Bangladeshi agency charged with licensing and supervising microfinance institutions (MFIs), reportedly indicates that as of June 2012, the end of the last fiscal year, Bangladeshi MFIs have disbursed approximately BDT 211 billion (USD 2.7 billion) in microcredit since such data has been tracked. Continue Reading »

BRAC, a development organization formerly known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, has adapted two strategies traditionally used in its microcredit initiatives to promote the organization’s efforts to address issues involving clean water and sanitation in Bangladesh through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.  Continue Reading »

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), a state-owned bank, plans to launch a mobile money pilot project in partnership with unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in April 2013. Continue Reading »

By William O. Maddocks; Commissioned by the Global Microcredit Summit; 2011; 31 pages; available at: http://www.globalmicrocreditsummit2011.org/userfiles/file/Workshop%20Papers/W_%20Maddocks%20-%20How%20Can%20Microfinance%20Programs%20Help%20the%20Struggle%20Against%20Social%20Problems%20Such.pdf

This paper presents an analysis of the role of microfinance institutions in helping to solve “seemingly intractable social problems” including begging, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and discrimination against the disabled, all while maintaining financial sustainability. Continue Reading »

The Bank of Zambia (BOZ), the country’s apex financial institution, has recently called for microfinance institutions operating in the country to embrace lending to productive sectors in the economy as distinct from lending for  consumer- related purposes, which is estimated to account for about 90 percent of  the amount loaned in the country’s microfinance sector. Continue Reading »

Governor Atiur Rahman of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank and industry regulator in Dhaka, has reportedly called for stakeholders in the global finance sector to adopt financial inclusion strategies as a means to enhance gross domestic product (GDP) amidst a weak financial environment [1]. Continue Reading »

Bangladesh Finance Minister A M A Muhith reportedly has urged microfinance institutions (MFIs) to adjust their management structures to ensure that the organizations do not destabilize due to the death of a founder. Continue Reading »

A trial government-run microinsurance program is currently being conducted involving cotton farmers in the Bunda district of Tanzania. Continue Reading »

The Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO), a governmental development agency based in Tanzania, reportedly has provided a loan of TZS 45.3 million (USD 28,500) to Tanzanian microfinance institution (MFI) Promotion of Rural Initiative and Development Enterprises Limited (PRIDE Tanzania) for on-lending to 153 orange farmers. Continue Reading »

BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee), a Bangladeshi nonprofit development organization, reportedly has announced plans to expand “pro-poor development projects in health, education, microfinance, farming and livestock sector” in Tanzania within an unspecified timeframe. Continue Reading »

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a nonprofit network of 15 “values-based” banks, released a report it commissioned at its recent annual conference in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, suggesting that values-based banks (VBBs), banks that prioritize social progress, are financially stronger than mainstream banks. Continue Reading »

Event Name: MF Tech 2012 Conference

Event Date: June 26 to June 27, 2012

Event Location:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Continue Reading »

Event Name: Transformational Microfinance LATAM

Event Date: May 22 to May 23, 2012

Event Location: JW Marriott Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico Continue Reading »

By Bertrand Moulin, published by the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi), August 2011, 20 pages, available at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/32967/ Continue Reading »

Event Name: ‘Financial Services for the Poor’ Professional Training Program

Event Date: February 3 – February 17, 2012

Event Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh Continue Reading »

Event Name: What Are the Key Barriers to Effective Group Lending?

Event Date: October 10 – October 14, 2011

Event Location: Online Continue Reading »

The BRAC Development Institute (BDI) set up by the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC), a Bangladesh-based development organization, recently released “Bangladesh Microfinance Review, August 2011” and concluded that “while the sector has achieved operational efficiency, it needs to diversify its products in order to serve unmet demand for credit.” Continue Reading »

Event Name: Investment and Innovation in Microfinance Summit: Africa

Event Date: October 18 to October 19, 2011

Event Location: Hilton Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya Continue Reading »