Kilimo Salama, a Kenyan microinsurance partnership between Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture of Switzerland, UAP Insurance of Kenya and Kenyan mobile-phone service provider Safaricom, has made its first payout to farmers in the town of Embu as a result of low rainfall levels. Continue Reading »

By Olga Morawczynski, Published by Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), MicroBanking Bulletin, Issue 19, December 2009, 8 pages, available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/MBB%2019%20-%20Saving%20Through%20the%20Mobile%20Phone.pdf

M-PESA is a mobile-phone-based service for sending and storing money, offered by Safaricom, a mobile service provider in Kenya. From its launch in March 2007 through the writing of this paper, M-PESA has acquired 7 million users. While M-PESA was designed to be a money transfer service, evidence suggests that customers are using it for savings as well. Continue Reading »

Trustco Group Holdings, a Namibia-based company that specializes in microfinance and microinsurance services, will offer mobile phone users in Zimbabwe free life insurance coverage each time they purchase airtime for phones from a mobile operator under the Trustco Mobile name. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Conference: World Card and Payments Summit 2011

Event Date: February 14, 2010 – February 16, 2010

Event Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has announced that it will invest GHS 1.58 million (USD 1.1 million) in Advans Ghana, a microfinance institution (MFI) established in 2008 that belongs to the Luxembourg-based Advans Group. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Conference: Transparent Pricing Initiative in Bolivia

Event Date: December 2, 2010 (date has been revised)

Event Location: Radisson Plaza Hotel, La Paz, Bolivia Continue Reading »

By Anamitra Deb, Ashish Karamchandani and Raina Singh, Published by Monitor Inclusive Markets, July 2010, 16 pages, available at: http://www.monitor.com/Portals/0/MonitorContent/imported/MonitorUnitedStates/Articles/PDFs/Monitor_Inclusive_Markets_Building_Houses_Financing_Homes_exec_summary.pdf

In this paper, Anamitra Deb, Ashish Karamchandani and Raina Singh examine the future of housing development and finance for the low-income population of urban India, specifically Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Continue Reading »

Event Name: 2010 Srijan Financial Inclusion Forum

Event Date: October 7, 2010 – October 8, 2010

Event Locations: Taj Land’s End, Mumbai, India Continue Reading »

Event Name: Understanding Failures in Microfinance

Event Date: September 22, 2010

Event Location: Center for Financial Inclusion, Washington, DC, USA Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has committed to issue a BRL 50 million (USD 29.1 million) guarantee for investors in a fund that securitizes loans originated by Banco Industrial Comercial S.A. Continue Reading »

The Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC), an India-based housing finance company established in 2008, has reported to MicroCapital that it has reached INR 100 million (USD 2.16 million) in loan sanctions. Continue Reading »

MicroSave, a microfinance consulting company established in 1998, has partnered with the Microfinance Focus website in a strategic alliance to promote microfinance knowledge sharing and dissemination with an emphasis on engaging diverse and geographically dispersed practitioners. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) manager, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling the equivalent of USD 4.31 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) ProCredit Mexico and Pro Mujer, with the loan to Pro Mujer being directed to its operations in Mexico. Continue Reading »

By Michael Tarazi and Paul Breloff, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Focus Note 63, July 2010, 12 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.45715/ Continue Reading »

Access Development Services, an Indian nonprofit organization that offers consulting services to microfinance institutions (MFIs), and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Limited, an international banking group, will present the Microfinance India Awards 2010 at the Microfinance India Summit on November 15, 2010. Continue Reading »

At the inaugural meeting of the Iraqi Microfinance Industry Network in Baghdad, representatives of all 14 Iraqi microfinance institutions (MFIs) present agreed to a Code of Conduct and Ethics that mandates ethical behavior and a commitment to serving low-income Iraqis. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, together with Bank Sinar Harapan Bali, a subsidiary of the Indonesian Bank Mandiri, and AXIS, an Indonesian mobile phone service provider, have launched a mobile-banking project in an effort to establish low-cost banking that will help expand access to basic financial services. Continue Reading »

Event Name: 2010 Toronto Microfinance Conference and Gala: ‘moving out of poverty… the micro way’

Event Date: Gala – ‘the micro ball’ – October 1, 2010, and Conference – ‘the micro way’ – October 2, 2010

Event Location: Allstream Centre, Toronto, Canada Continue Reading »