The Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), a disseminator of microfinance information with 12 microfinance institution members, plans to set up a credit bureau by the end of April 2010. Continue Reading »

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) will provide GBP 8 million, the equivalent of over USD 12.1 million, to the CGAP (Consultive Group to Assist the Poor) Technology Program. Continue Reading »

According to Leela Rashid, the director of operations of The Microcredit Regularity Authority (MRA) of Bangladesh, the organization will begin to make public the interest rates charged by microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »

AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Azerbaijan, has issued shares worth AZN 20 million, the equivalent of over USD 24.8 million. Continue Reading »

Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in India, has raised INR 45.8 crore, the equivalent of over USD 10 million, in a second round of funding. Continue Reading »

According to a recent press release, AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Azerbaijan, now has a loan portfolio that is over USD 300 million and over 100,000 customers. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, is expected to file for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next three to four weeks, according to three sources that news provider, Reuters, does not name. Continue Reading »

According to a study by PlaNIS, a PlaNet Finance entity that advises microfinance investment funds, European funds dedicated to microfinance have increased their assets by 16 percent in 2009. Continue Reading »

Aavishkaar Goodwell, a company that provides equity finance for microfinance institutions (MFIs), is attempting to secure commitments to raise USD 100 million for its second fund. Continue Reading »

Standard Chartered, an international commercial bank headquartered in London, has provided an IDR 15 billion loan, the equivalent of over USD 1.6 million, to Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Indonesia. Continue Reading »

ACCION International, a nonprofit organization with partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in over 20 countries, has announced the inauguration of ACCION Microcredit China (AMC), an MFI located in Chifeng Prefecture, Inner Mongolia, China. Continue Reading »

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development bank, will provide a USD 50 million loan to the state-owned Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and a partial credit guarantee of up to USD 250 million for ADB’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Project, which will allow public sector commercial banks to obtain medium- to long-term funds to on-lend to existing MSME clients in India. Continue Reading »

The Southern Sudan Microfinance Development Facility (SSMDF), a microfinance investment facility supported by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Government of Southern Sudan, will provide funding of SDG 214,290, the equivalent of USD 92,565, to the Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Southern Sudan, over a period of three years. Continue Reading »

Financiera Independencia, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Mexico, has announced that on February 24, 2010, its Board of Directors authorized the MFI to submit a request to receive a banking license, thus allowing it to offer a wider range of products and services as well as to receive funding from retail deposits. Continue Reading »

According to a Georgian Business Week article, the Georgian microfinance sector saw profits of GEL 16 million, the equivalent of over USD 9.3 million, in 2009. Continue Reading »

According to a recent AngolaPress article, 262 youths in the southern Angola province of Cuene received microloans in 2009 from the “Angola Youth” microcredit program. Continue Reading »

Women’s World Banking (WWB), an organization that provides technical and advisory services to its global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), has appointed Kathryn C. Mayer as the Director of the Center for Microfinance Leadership (CML), a WWB organization that provides workshops, coaching and support to chief executive officers (CEOs) and senior managers in the microfinance industry. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has announced that it will make an equity investment of XOF 574.6 million, the equivalent of over USD 1.2 million, in MicroCred Senegal, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Senegal that was founded by the MicroCred Group, an investment company based in France that is part of the PlaNet Finance Group. Continue Reading »