Gradatim, an international provider of technology services to microfinance institutions and insurers, has raised USD 3 million in Series A equity funding from NEA-IndoUS Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in India. Continue Reading »
The World Bank’s CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) has released an updated version of its “Due Diligence Guidelines for the Review of Microcredit Loan Portfolios: A Tiered Approach,” which offers techniques to assess the extent to which microfinance institutions (MFIs) are likely to collect on their loan assets. Continue Reading »
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a major funder of institutions that finance housing and micro- and small enterprises, recently announced that it has secured funding commitments equivalent to USD 41 million, much of which will be invested in four countries in which it will invest for the first time: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus. Continue Reading »
At the recent Mobile Money Transfer Asia Pacific conference in Manila, a representative of consulting firm Edgar Dunn predicted that global mobile banking will reach 364 million low-income people and will be worth USD 202 billion by 2012, according to a recent Philippine Star article. Sixty percent of that activity is expected to occur in Asia, with China and India joining the Philippines as leaders in the region. Continue Reading »
Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited, a Indian microfinance institution reports that it has completed its first major equity raise with a INR 500,000,000 (USD 10.7 million) investment from the government-backed Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Continue Reading »
According to a recent article in Nigeria’s Business Day newspaper, some microfinance institutions (MFIs) are experiencing liquidity squeezes as their customers withdraw cash for the Christmas holiday. Continue Reading »
Since 2008, the Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has worked to encourage private sector development in Iraq by funding microfinance institutions (MFIs), encouraging the implementation of investment law and working to kelp Iraq join the World Trade Organization. Continue Reading »
Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that certifies whether microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) actually invest in microfinance, recently carried out a study of the MIVs it has labeled (as investing in microfinance) to determine how they have been impacted by the recent financial downturn. Continue Reading »
With funding from the African Development Bank (ADB), the Tanzanian government’s Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility (SELF) has distributed the equivalent of USD 15 million to 228 microfinance institutions, according to a recent article in Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper. Continue Reading »
Intellecap, an Indian consulting firm, recently gave its Srijan 2009 Microfinance Awards to the following institutions:
The Indian division of UK-based bank HSBC has made an unspecified grant to microfinance institution (MFI) Spandana of India to contract with US-based MicroEnergy Credits (MEC) to develop products to assist microborrowers in purchasing solar-powered lighting and selling carbon credits resulting from the use of the new lighting. MEC, which has worked with several MFIs to help them launch and scale clean energy programs, will work with Spandana to create products tailored to the needs of its clients. MEC will also assist clients that purchase the solar lights to sell credits they earn by using the clean energy. The project aims to reach 1 million households, reducing the burden of collecting biomass fuel and the health risks of breathing smoke. Continue Reading »
Without giving a precise number, Bosnia and Herzegovina Central Bank Governor Kemal Kozaric recently said that the recent level of non-performing microcredit loans has been ”even larger” than the commercial non-performing loan rate of 2.8 percent, according to a report on the Interactive Investor website. Over-indebtedness and multiple lending are particular concerns because microcredit organisations have only been required to report to the central credit bureau since the second half of 2009. During the first half of 2009, the microlending sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina shrank 4 percent. Continue Reading »
The Faster Times website has reported that nine Nicaraguan farmers were sentenced to prison terms of three to five years for attacking staff of the Local Development Fund, a Nicaraguan microfinance institution. Continue Reading »
In a recent interview with Tufts Daily, the student newspaper of Massachusetts’ Tufts University, Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund Director Tryfan Evans said that the fund will be announcing a positive return for 2009 after final audits are complete. The fund was founded in 2005 with a gift of USD 100 million to Tufts University from Pierre and Pam Omidyar, founders of Omidyar Network, a “philanthropic investment firm.”
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) recently released three of its benchmarking reports. Two of these were produced in Spanish in cooperation with REDCAMIF, the Central American Microfinance Network: the 2009 Central America Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report, which covers 78 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the 2009 Nicaragua Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report, which includes coverage of the impact of the “No Pago” movement. The 2009 Azerbaijan Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report was produced in English in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association (AMFA). Continue Reading »
The Financial Times (FT) newspaper, in partnership with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), has launched the 2010 FT Sustainable Banking Awards, which recognizes banks financial institutions for leadership and innovation in integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into their operations. Continue Reading »
In response to an internal study showing strong demand for a world-class-quality, research-informed masters degree in microfinance, Australia’s Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) is seeking your input on this possibility via an online survey. While acknowledging that there are a few existing masters degrees specialising in microfinance, FDC argues for the expansion of offerings citing the ranking of “weak management quality” in the top five risks for microfinance by the “Microfinance Banana Skins” survey each of the last two years. Continue Reading »
NOVICA, an affiliate of National Geographic magazine which sells “fairly traded” products made by artisans in poor countries, is offering its customers the chance to make interest-free loans to its producers. NOVICA co-founder and CEO Roberto Milk argues that its producers are good credit risks because they have income from the sales to the company. NOVICA reports having arranged sales for 75,000 artisans since 1999 and a 20 percent increase in sales over the past year. Continue Reading »
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