Advans SA, a Luxembourg-based organization that mobilizes funds for microfinance institutions (MFIs), has raised EUR 23 million (USD 33 million) in its second round of fundraising. Continue Reading »

Rural Credit Finance (RUCREF), a microfinance firm in Uganda, has agreed to a UGX 450 million (USD 230,000) deal to integrate Neptune Software Uganda’s “Orbit Banking” financial system. Continue Reading »

Bahrain, the small island country in the Persian Gulf, recently opened the Family Bank, a microcredit lending firm. Continue Reading »

ICICI Prudential Asset Management, an Indian fund manager, has invested in a securitized offering by Equitas Microfinance, an Indian microcredit lending firm based in Chennai, India. Continue Reading »

Gary Ford has been named the new CEO of MicroCredit Enterprises (MCE), a nonprofit organization that distributes private capital for microloans. Continue Reading »

Rapport Bangladesh Limited (RBL), a professional management services organization, recently organized a seminar in Dhaka titled “Does Micro Finance Alleviate Poverty? Borrowers Response”. Continue Reading »

In 2009, Al-Amal Microfinance Bank, a microcredit bank established in 2002 in Yemen, provided credit of YER 300 million (USD 1.5 million) to 5,858 low-income individuals. Continue Reading »

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a regional development organization in Africa, has approved a USD 660,000 grant to Access Bank Tanzania (ABT), a newly established commercial bank in Tanzania focusing on microfinance. The initiative was made possible through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), a subsidiary of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance program, which is a billion-dollar initiative of the government of Japan and the AfDB to promote private sector development in Africa. Continue Reading »

Mr. Olufemi Fabanwo, Nigeria’s (CBN) Director of the Other Financial Institutions Department, told news agencies that the central bank will investigate five recently failed microfinance banks and, if any operators are found to be fraudulent, he or she will be handed over to the EFCC, the country’s law enforcement agency. Operators are considered fraudulent if they have no state license to engage in banking activities. The five banks are: Integrated Microfinance Bank, KFC Microfinance Bank, Bristol Microfinance Bank, Unique Microfinance Bank, and Milestone Microfinance Bank, all based in Lagos. Continue Reading »

After Samsung, one of the world’s largest conglomerates by revenue, and Woori Financial Group, a Seoul-based financial services holding company, recently opened branches of the Miso Microcredit Foundation, other Korean conglomerates have begun to follow suit. The Miso (Smile) Microcredit Foundation is a government-led microcredit lending program in Korea that plans to raise KRW 2 trillion (USD 1.69 billion) over the next 10 years. Continue Reading »

Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank of Indonesia, has predicted that the supply of microcredit to low and medium-income enterprises will increase this year. According to Gatot Sugiono, a BI representative from Medan, the capital of North Sumatara, the supply of microcredit could increase to above 50 percent of total bank credits in North Sumatra. The increase would suggest greater access to credit among low-income enterprises. Mr. Sugiono recently estimated the present supply of microcredit at IDR 68.3 trillion (USD 7.2 billion). [1] Continue Reading »

The recent “Banking on Microfinance” conference, organized by Italy-based Intesa Sanpaolo, underscored the “for-profit vs. non-profit” debate in the microfinance industry. Continue Reading »

Despite the increase in microcredit financing in South Korea, many analysts warn that low-income individuals may be unable to access small loans due to various rules and requirements. A case example is the owner of a small clothing shop in Jegi-dong, Seoul who was unable to receive a loan of KRW 40 million (USD 33,700) from Woori Microcredit Bank, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group and an affiliate of the “Smile Microcredit Foundation,”  a government-led microcredit lending program in Korea. [4] The woman failed to meet a requirement stipulating that business owners must have run his or her shop for at least two years to be eligible for microcredit. Continue Reading »

Mercy Corps, a global relief organization, has recently transitioned Aceh, Indonesia, from short-term emergency relief to long-term recovery through microfinance and microcredit solutions. The organization was initially involved in delivering emergency items, including food, hygiene supplies and building materials to the devastated coastal region of Aceh, Indonesia, in the wake of the massive earthquake on December 26, 2004, and the ensuing tsunami that destroyed cities across 13 countries and killed almost 230,000 people. [1] Continue Reading »