Friday, July 31, 2009
For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/deals-in-microfinance-the
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, is investing USD 4 million in equity in Sogebank S.A. of Haiti to finance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) [1]. According to the IFC’s Summary of Proposed Investment, Sogebank is the largest commercial bank in Haiti with total assets of approximately USD 750 million [2]. It has a branch network of 42 branches [1]. Its activities comprise of retail and corporate banking, microfinance, remittance distribution, and factoring, which operate as independent businesses through subsidiaries [2]. Information on the percentage of its business delegated to microfinance at Sogebank is not publicly available. Continue Reading »
Friday, July 24, 2009
Event Name: Promoting Financial Capability and Consumer Protection – A Step Forward Towards Financial Inclusion in Africa
Event Description: Conference
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: Not available. Please inquire with the contact person provided below.
Summary of Event: The two-day conference aims to discuss whether and how financial inclusion can be strengthened, share and learn from individual country experiences, and establish a roadmap that will define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. Continue Reading »
Thursday, July 23, 2009
For discussion of this topic, click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/papers-and-research-reviews; and http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/impact-what-are-the-social
Written by David McKenzie for the World Bank, released May 2009 as a policy research working paper, 31 pages, available at: http://collab2.cgap.org//gm/document-1.9.35106/Impact%20assessments%20in%20finance%20and%20private%20sector%20development_what%20have%20we%20learned%20and%20what%20should%20we%20learn.pdf
In this paper, the author explores the proposition that the area of finance and private sector development can benefit from impact evaluations [1]. Impact evaluations can assess the efficacy of a program or policy by comparing it against a counterfactual of what would have happened without the program or policy [1]. He argues that this is one of the most important tools that can be used along with economic theory for understanding “what works” [1]. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/gossip-column-human-interest
Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd. (Grameen-Jameel), a joint venture based in Dubai between the Grameen Foundation and Abdul Latif Jameel Group, announced it would appoint Julia Assaad as its new General Manager [1, 2]. Grameen Foundation is a Washington, DC-based non-profit, and Abdul Latif Jameel Group is a Saudi Arabia-based for-profit business group [3, 5]. Alex Counts, Grameen-Jameel Director and President of Grameen Foundation, stated that Ms. Assaad was brought on to help reach its goal of adding one million new microfinance clients by 2011 [2]. As reported in a previous MicroCapital story on the Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium that took place in November 2008, the Arab microfinance industry has an estimated total market of USD 5.5 billion in the Arab world [13]. Moreover, Heather Henyon, the General Manager of Grameen-Jameel at the time, cited that currently there are 2.9 million borrowers in Arab countries that make up less than four percent of the total demand for microfinance in Arab countries [13]. The untapped market for microfinance is valued at USD 3.96 billion, only slightly less than the USD 5.29 billion that is calculated as the total microfinance market [13]. Continue Reading »
Monday, July 20, 2009
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women in Microfinance Career Panel, July 23, 2009 in New York, NY, Organized by WAM-NY
Event Name: Women in Microfinance Career Panel
Date: July 23, 2009
Location: The Carlton Hotel on Madison Avenue, New York, NY
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor, Sada Reddy announced at Pacific Microfinance Week, a five-day conference in Fiji, that the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) will work to review the regulatory framework for microfinance development in Fiji [6, 8]. He noted that the RBF will work with commercial banks to introduce rural banking services in the country [6]. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Event Name: 5th International Microinsurance Conference
Date: November 3-5, 2009
Location: Le Méridien President, Dakar, Senegal
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank for the European Union (EU), have agreed to create a Global Emerging Markets Risk Database Consortium. Other international financial institutions (IFIs) that will be joining the Consortium include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The Consortium is to pool data on individual institutions and strengthen risk-management practices among multilateral banks. Continue Reading »
Monday, July 13, 2009
Grameen Foundation, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization, announced the launch of a suite of mobile phone applications developed with Google and MTN Uganda (MTN) that will deliver services and information in Uganda. Google, a Silicon Valley-based internet search engine and services provider, will provide human and technology resources towards the development of the application solutions. MTN Uganda, a part of the MTN Group based in South Africa, is the telecom operator that will provide the communications infrastructure and local marketing support. The services are SMS-based and designed to work with basic mobile phones. SMS (short message service) enables short text messages to be sent between mobile phones. This is the first available suite of applications resulting from a Grameen Foundation project initiated 18 months ago called the Application Laboratory (AppLab). The service allows individuals to use either their own mobile phone or a shared mobile phone to access information relating to agriculture, healthcare, and market information that can match buyers and sellers. Continue Reading »
Friday, July 10, 2009
Event Name: Microfinance for Institutional Investors Conference
Date: September 21-23, 2009
Location: Tyson’s Corner Marriott, Vienna, VA (Washington, DC metro area)
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »
Thursday, July 9, 2009
According to the Starbroek News, the Small Business Development Finance Trust (SBDFT) of Guyana reported that it had funded over 540 micro and small loans to the value GYD 147.2 million (equivalent to USD 711,046) in 2008. SBDFT was created in 2002 with the objective to provide financial and advisory services to low income households in Guyana. Starbroek News reported that in the Trust’s Annual Report, it stated an accumulated surplus equivalent to USD 179,638 as of December 2008 compared with USD 146,801 at the end of 2007. Continue Reading »
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Event Name: 2009 SEEP Annual Network Conference
Date: November 2-6, 2009
Location: Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, VA (Washington, DC metro area)
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
After the 2002 crisis that wiped out USD 200 million in savings in Haiti, the Haitian government passed legislation to address and increase oversight of savings and loans cooperatives. However, as discussed by the Center for Financial Inclusion’s (CFI) Summary of Client Protection in Haiti, there are no regulations that address the microfinance sector. There has been pending legislation in Parliament for the past two years that would increase oversight for the microfinance sector, the details of which are not available. The Association Nationale de Institutions de Microfinance d’Haiti (ANIMH), founded in 2002, was formed by a group of non-cooperative microfinance institutions (MFIs) to deal with the threat of a similar financial crisis in the microfinance sector. It has a loan portfolio from its member institutions of USD 47.4 million as of 2007. According to the CFI, to regulate and increase consumer protection in the microfinance sector in Haiti, legislation should be passed to address the microfinance sector specifically. Continue Reading »
Friday, July 3, 2009
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development institution that fosters private sector investment in 30 countries in Central Europe and Central Asia, is lending USD 10 million to Minsk Transit Bank (MTB), a commercial bank established in 1994 and based in Minks, Belarus. According to Moody’s, MTB reported total assets of USD 150 million in 2007. MTB is one of six EBRD partner banks in Belarus. The five-year loan to MTB will be used to lend to privately-owned micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs). As stated by the EBRD, the funding is to help small businesses in the country weather the crisis. Continue Reading »
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Event Name: Encuentro Centroamericano de Microfinanzas
Date: September 9 -11, 2009
Location: Real InterContinental Hotel, San Salvador, El Salvador
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Global Partnerships (GP), a Seattle non-profit organization founded in 1994 that funds microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America, has received a USD 180,000 grant to help manage its loan funds. The three-year grant comes from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a private grantmaking foundation for the Pacific Northwest based in Vancouver, Washington and established in 1975. As of 2007, GP has fund assets worth USD 10.5 million whereas the Murdock Trust had USD 892 million in assets. As stated in GP’s press release, elements of the grant-supported project will include building GP’s staff capacity to manage the growth of its funds, broadening GP’s base of investors, and creating a knowledge management system to manage and analyze fund data. This project is part of GP’s greater objective to augment management of its three investment funds and improve its management and tracking of fund data. Moreover, GP plans to expand into Mexico this summer, its eighth country. As stated on the Murdock Trust’s website, the grant will primarily be used to hire a new director of investment operations to manage GP’s microfinance investment programs. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Investments in Microfinance: Surviving the Liquidity Crisis & Ensuring Sustainable Growth Conference
7-9 July 2009, Grange City Hotel, London, UK
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »
Monday, June 29, 2009
Grameen Foundation, a global non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, was awarded the 2009 Duke’s Choice Award from Sun Microsystems for its open source technology, Mifos. Mifos won under the category, “Best Java Technology for the Open Source Community.” An open source software program means the source code is accessible and the software is freely redistributable. Grameen Foundation was established in 1986 and has assets totaling USD 25.0 million as stated in its 2008 annual report. Sun Microsystems is a technology company founded in 1982 and based in Silicon Valley, California with assets worth USD 14.3 billion according to its 2008 annual report. Grameen states that this is the first Duke’s Choice Award for both Grameen Foundation and a microfinance-focused technology initiative. Continue Reading »
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