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, will allocate a USD 13 million credit line to Azerbaijan’s Azerdemiryolbank, a private banking institution established in 1989. Azerdemiryolbank lends to other banks and small businesses. As stated in the bank’s press release, its assets totaled AZN 208.48 million (estimated USD 259.3 million) as of June 2009. In 2005, the EBRD gained a 25%+1 share of Azerdemiryolbank via an equity investment through an acquisition of newly issued shares of Azerdemiryolbank. The Board of Directors for the EBRD covered and approved the credit line for Azerdemiryolbank to facilitate credits to the country’s micro, small, and medium-sized business sectors. It stated that of the total, USD 3 million will be provided for SME lending and USD 10 million for lending to the micro sector. The credit agreement signing is still pending. Further details on how the credit plan will be implemented have yet to be disclosed. Continue Reading »

Written by Ignacio Mas and Jim Rosenberg for the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), released May 2009 as a brief, 4 pages, available at:

http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.34485/Mobileoperators_Brief.pdf

Banks and mobile operators have two different perspectives on mobile banking. Banks view it as a way to enhance services to existing customers.  Mobile operators, on the other hand, focus more on reaching the mass market and unbanked. This brief seeks to answer the question of whether the company that owns the mobile network, the mobile operator, needs to provide financial services. It assesses the capacity and incentives for mobile operators to provide financial services. The authors conclude that mobile operators do not necessarily need to “own” the financial services associated with mobile banking. Continue Reading »

MicroEnsure, an insurance intermediary established in 2005, stated that it plans to launch a microinsurance scheme next year for up to 600,000 farmers in India’s Kolhapur province. MicroEnsure is also a subsidiary of Opportunity International, a global non-profit microfinance network, which was formed in 1974, has assets totaling USD 736 million as of 2007 and lends to over 1 million people globally. The plan will insure farmers against their rice crops failing due to drought or heavy rains. Furthermore, the plan is to help farmers access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment. According to the World Bank, India’s rural population account for about 72 percent of the India’s 1.1 billion people, and most of the rural poor rely on rain-fed agriculture. Continue Reading »

Catherine Quense, ACCION International’s Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Deputy, will take over as interim president and CEO, replacing Maria Otero, who has left to join the Obama Administration as Under Secretary of Global Affairs in the US State Department. Ms. Quense will direct ACCION in line with its 2008-2011 strategic plan and the key initiatives launched under Ms. Otero’s direction, “ACCION’s Model for Social Change” from its 2007 annual report. The four issues the plan addresses are “low income, poor quality of life, vulnerability and lack of dignified solutions,” through which the provision of financial services to low-income households will address. ACCION will broaden and reach beyond its target audience from informal-sector microentrepreneurs in urban Latin America for a greater global reach. The new areas include Inner Mongolia, China and Nigeria. Continue Reading »

MOBILE MONEY SUMMIT 2009

22-25 JUNE 2009, Fira Montjuï, BARCELONA, SPAIN

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Continue Reading »

The European Commission (EC), the executive branch of the European Union (EU), plans to allot EUR 100 million from the EU budget to provide “micro-credit” for people hoping to start a small business. A total of EUR 500 million will be available for microcredits when supplemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the “policy-driven lending institution” for the EU. EU leaders will further discuss this plan later in June. Continue Reading »

Incofin, a Belgian microfinance fund manager that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs), has taken a 34 percent stake in Asomi Finance Private Ltd. (Asomi FPL) in Assam, India. Asomi FPL is an institution that undertakes microfinance, income generation and development activities in the state. Over 90 percent of its operations is devoted to microfinance, and Asomi has grown from less than 4,000 borrowers in 2005 to over 30,000 reached through 40 branches as of 2008. Incofin was established in 1992, and this is Incofin’s first investment in India. Continue Reading »

Agile Financial Technologies (Agile FT), a software technology provider, will acquire information technology company Theme Technologies’ (Theme) micro-finance, micro-credit, and credit management products. Agile FT will rebrand and launch the products as Agilis Universal Microfinance (Agilis UMF). The agreement is an earn-out mechanism over three years where part of the purchase price is contingent upon the future performance of Theme. Continue Reading »