By Paul M. Pronyk, James R. Hargreaves and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Volume 298, Number 16, October 2007, available at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/298/16/1925.pdf

In this paper, Paul Pronyk, James Hargreaves and Jonathan Morduch examine available evidence on the potential for microfinance to contribute toward achieving the United Nation’s (UN’s) Millennium Development Goals (MDG), with specific focus on improvements in health and the challenges and opportunities for expanding such outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular. Continue Reading »

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international finance institution headquartered in London, is providing a loan of KGS 67.5 million (USD 1.5 million) to Bai Tushum and Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) in the Kyrgyz Republic, for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs). This constitutes the first of two equal tranches under a KGS 135 million (USD 3 million) loan agreement signed in March 2010. According to EBRD, the transaction is part of a USD 60 million non-bank MFI framework for “Early Transition Countries,” which was approved by EBRD in September 2008. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will provide financing of USD 25 million to Federal Bank, a private commercial bank in India, to improve support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to boost international trade opportunities. The deal will “facilitate transactions in challenging markets, promote competitive financing and build bank relationships with new institutions, thereby reducing risk and enabling more smaller businesses to engage in trade.” Continue Reading »

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF), a multilateral financial institution working across Latin America, has approved a USD 5 million line of credit for Caja Rural de Ahorro y Credito (CRAC) Nuestra Gente, a microfinance institution in Peru, to finance micro- and small enterprises in Peru. According to Eleonora Silva Pardo, the director of CAF in Peru, the granting of this line of credit is part of CAF’s goal of improving support for the micro- and small enterprise sector in all of Latin America. Continue Reading »

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the apex body established by the government of India to regulate and develop the pension sector, has launched a new offering under the National Pension System (NPS), entitled NPS-Lite, to promote saving among the economically disadvantaged population. The NPS-Lite model is designed to facilitate small investments from the poor via low administrative and transactional costs. Continue Reading »

Rob Robbins, founder of ‘Investing for the Soul,’ a US-based online “ethical investment” magazine, insists ethical investments can outperform their mainstream rivals. Ethical or socially responsible investment is an investment strategy that seeks to maximize both financial return an social good. According to Mr Robbins, “Most studies of ethical or socially responsible investment funds find that their performance is roughly similar or sometimes higher than returns from conventional investments.” Continue Reading »

The South Korean government has launched “Sunshine Loans,” a new offering under Smile Microcredit Bank – a state-run microfinance program established in 2009 to provide unsecured loans to low-income households through partnerships with the private sector. Over the next five years, the program is slated to extend KRW 10 trillion (USD 8.45 billion) to low-income households. The program will be implemented by a variety of financial institutions, including the National Agricultural Cooperative Foundation, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative, the National Credit Union Federation of Korea, the Korean Foundation of Community Credit Cooperatives and several unnamed private mutual savings banks. Continue Reading »

The National Microfinance Bank (NMB), a commercial bank in Tanzania, has announced its intentions to provide ‘Juhudi’ loans of TSH 5 million (USD 3,300) to TSH 500 million (USD 330,000) to entrepreneurs in the country. According to Mr Kees Verbeek, the chief commercial officer of NMB, the issue for entrepreneurs is not whether loans are available, but rather if the interest rates, which reportedly vary between 18 to 25 percent in Tanzania, are affordable. Juhudi loans will be distributed at a 15 percent annual interest rate. Continue Reading »

By Dean Karlan, Jonathan Morduch and Sendhil Mullainathan, published by Financial Access Initiative, June 2010, available at: http://financialaccess.org/sites/default/files/RFN11_Why_microfinance_takeup_rates_are_low%286-17-10%29.pdf

Evidence indicates that under half of eligible households participate in microfinance. In this paper, Mr Karlan, Mr Morduch and Mr Mullainathan begin by reviewing why take-up rates are important and how they can be measured. Data from thirteen projects show that take-up rates vary from 2 to 84 percent of eligible individuals. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ – German Technical Cooperation Center), a German government-owned international development organization, are providing technical assistance to the Philippines’ central bank in order to strengthen its supervisory and regulatory capacity for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. A study last year by Asia Business Monitor showed that approximately 83 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines have experienced difficulties in accessing credit from banks. According to Will Beloe, IFC head of advisory services in the Philippines, greater support from central bank supervisors for commercial banks specializing in lending to small and medium enterprises is expected to increase credit flow to the sector. Continue Reading »

With sponsorship from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, Southern Sudan recently held what was billed as its first microfinance conference. The aim of the conference, which was held in the regional capital of Juba, was to provide a forum for stakeholders to exchange views about the status of microfinance in Southern Sudan and to develop a strategy to improve microfinance in the region. Continue Reading »

A new microfinance company, Kongalend, has been launched in Windhoek, Namibia, to offer collateral-free loans to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as private households interested in purchasing renewable energy products. Loans between NAD 1,000 (USD 133) and NAD 2,500 (USD 332) will be issued not in cash, but rather through seven unnamed local partner companies that provide renewable energy technology. Continue Reading »

MicroRate, a microfinance rating agency, has released its fifth annual survey evaluating trends in microfinance investment – “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey.” The 2010 MIV survey indicates that investor interest in microfinance funds and similar intermediaries remains strong despite the global recession. However, strong interest from investors is being offset by weaker demand for funding from microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2009, MIVs grew by 22 percent, but assets actually deployed to MFIs only grew 11 percent. This leaves MIVs with rapidly increasing levels of liquidity. By the end of last year, competition forced rates below the minimum level that some MIVs deem necessary in order to be compensated fully for the risk involved. Continue Reading »

Village Financial Services Private Limited (VFS), a microfinance institution (MFI) in eastern India, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a consumer goods company based in Mumbai, India, to improve access to safe drinking water. The partnership will enable poor households to take a loan at a zero rate of interest to buy HUL’s Pureit water purifiers. Continue Reading »

The Women of Worth (WOW), a microcredit scheme that aims to help single mothers start small businesses in Guyana, has now expanded to the region of Essequibo. As reported by MicroCapital at the time, WOW was launched in June by the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI), a commercial bank. Continue Reading »

The Village Enterprise Fund (VEF), a microenterprise development program in East Africa, has received a USD 25,000 grant from the Disney Conservation Fund (DWCF), an awards program for the study and protection of the world’s wildlife and ecosystems sponsored by the media and entertainment conglomerate, the Walt Disney Company, to support a new integrated development/conservation program. The grant will be used to expand VEF’s development/conservation program surrounding Uganda’s Budongo Forest – a conservation area in East Africa that is home to roughly 600 chimpanzees. The Budongo program empowers local communities to start sustainable, diversified small businesses in a way that supports long-term conservation goals. Continue Reading »

Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) have reportedly attracted private equity investment totaling INR 3.86 billion (USD 84 million) between January and June of this year – an increase of approximately 15 percent over the first half of 2009. According to unnamed “industry experts,” the increase is a result of the high profitability of the majority of Indian MFIs, brought about by the high interest rates that MFIs charge (30-60 percent per year) and high repayment rates (exceeding 95 percent). Continue Reading »

Following growing complaints of fraudulent practices leveled against several microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the failure some, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) conducted an examination of the sector, which has revealed some irregularities and unethical practices. Continue Reading »