Opportunity International announced it received a 4.5 million USD grant from Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm. According to PR Newswire, the grant will be used to create and implement new electronic and mobile banking technologies that will reduce transaction costs and make microfinance services available to more people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, it will launch an “electronic wallet” strategy in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda - countries where Opportunity has significant operations already, including banks and financial institutions. The strategy aims to develop the optimum mix of electronic banking technologies needed in each of these countries. Continue Reading »

Opportunity Collaboration Summit

October 17th-20th, 2009, Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico  Continue Reading »

The GSM Association (GSMA), an organization representing more than 750 of the world’s cell phone operators, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the Mobile Money for the Unbanked program (MMU), that will expand the availability of financial services to people in the developing world through the use of mobile phones. Supported by a 12.5 million USD grant from the Gates Foundation, the program will work with mobile operators, banks, microfinance institutions, governments, and development organizations to expand reliable, affordable, mobile financial services to the unbanked. The services would allow people to set aside a small amount of savings in a safe place to guard against risks, build assets, and provide opportunities for the next generation. Continue Reading »

Maheen Saleem and Aban Haq wrote an article entitled, “Microfinance Sector’s Consumer Protection Initiative,” published in the February issue of Business Recorder. The authors first summarize the rapid development of the microfinance industry in Pakistan. They then highlight how increasing competition in the microfinance industry can lead to the use of unethical and illegal practices by organizations in order to gain a competitive advantage. They contend that these facts, combined with the characteristic vulnerability of microfinance recipients, demonstrate the need for institutionalized consumer protection. Accordingly, Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), an association of professional organizations in the field, has laid out a set of guidelines and principles for the treatment of microfinance clients called the Code of Conduct for Consumer Protection. The Code was officially launched on the 26th of January, 2009. The full text of the article is available at:

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=890801&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate= Continue Reading »

CDC Group, the British government-backed, private equity fund of funds with net assets of 4 billion USD, has invested into two microfinance funds to the tune of 15 million USD: the India Financial Inclusion Fund, managed by Caspian Capital Partners, and the Catalyst Microfinance Investors, managed by Catalyst Microfinance Investment Company. By investing in MFIs, the fund aims to provide low-income persons access to a wide range of financial services, including credit, savings, and fund transfers. Continue Reading »

RIZAL Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), one of the Philippines’ 10 biggest banks, announced that it will acquire Batangas based JP Laurel Rural Bank for 8 million USD to establish its microfinance business. According to a report from the Manila Times, RCBC said its board of directors approved the establishment of an 8 million USD shareholder advance facility which will be infused over a three year period from 2009 to 2011 in order to acquire JP Laurel Rural Bank. The acquisition will extend RCBC’s penetration into the Batangas, Laguna, and Mindoro Oriental areas where JP Laurel Rural Bank’s branches are located. The rural bank’s particular geographic coverage represents a prime market for achieving RCBC’s strategic goals, which include microfinance. The acquisition decision is still subject to approval by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines. Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing the microfinance institution Inicjatywa Mikro with a 3.8 million USD loan to aid the development of micro and small enterprises in Poland. The loan is supported by technical assistance funded by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. The financing comes under the EU/EBRD Preparatory Action Framework, which supports micro and small enterprises in the new EU member states, and aims to generally provide medium and long-term financing from the EBRD combined with technical assistance funded by the European Commission. Continue Reading »

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has joined forces with Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), an organization that focuses on “mentoring” as a technique to help young entrepreneurs in India, and venture capital firm VenturEast Micro Equity Managers Private Limited (VMEM) to set up a fund that will provide financing to young Indian business persons with growth potential but limited resources. It will target in particular India’s disadvantaged entrepreneurs between 18-35 years, who are considered too high risk for debt financing and thus require equity injections. Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a policy and research center housed at the World Bank dedicated to advancing financial access to the world’s underprivileged, released a path breaking report in February 2009 entitled, “Shedding Light on Microfinance Equity Valuation - Past and Present,” produced with limited analytical support from banking firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. The white paper is notable in providing an empirically grounded analysis of how financial valuation methods are actually applied by external actors to MFIs and other lending institutions with poverty alleviation goals. This is made possible by CGAP’s collection of information on 144 private equity transactions, the largest such dataset gathered to date, as well as information on 10 MFIs and other low income focused lenders that have raised funds through the issuance of securities. The original report is available at: http://www2.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.9021/OP14v3.pdf Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a policy and research center housed at the World Bank dedicated to advancing financial access to the world’s poor, has released a path breaking report in February 2009 entitled, “Shedding Light on Microfinance Equity Valuation: Past and Present,” produced with limited analytical support from banking firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. The white paper is notable in providing an empirically grounded analysis of how financial valuation methods are actually applied by external actors to MFIs and other lending institutions with poverty alleviation goals. This is made possible by CGAP’s collection of information on 144 private equity transactions, the largest such dataset gathered to date, as well as information on 10 MFIs and other low income focused lenders that have raised funds through the issuance of securities. The original report is available at:

http://www2.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.9021/OP14v3.pdf Continue Reading »

The 4th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum

June 1st-3rd, 2009, the Westin Galleria, Dallas, TX, USA Continue Reading »

Social entrepreneur Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director of Pakistan’s third largest microfinance institution the Kashf Foundation, wrote an article entitled “Female Empowerment and the Promise of Microfinance” published on January 20^th, 2009 in Pakistan International News. The article summarizes the credit sources available to the impoverished in developing countries, and elucidates how microfinance can help the “unbankable” poor, especially women, break out of the vicious circle of debt and poverty. The full article is available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=157976 Continue Reading »

The World Bank Group and the German government intend to launch a 600 million USD “Microfinance Enhancement Facility,” according to a report from the New York Times. The fund aims to support microfinance institutions in developing countries facing difficulties as a result of wholesale credit tightening stemming from the recent turmoil in global capital markets. Continue Reading »

Making Cents International “Youth Financial Services: Implementing Good Practices in the Field”

March 2nd - 5th, 2009, Washington, DC, USA Continue Reading »

Chicago Microfinance Conference

Navigating the Markets: Microfinance in the New Economy

May 8th, 2009

The Harper Center, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 USA Continue Reading »

Insurance Journal reports that Zurich Financial Services Group, an insurance focused financial services provider, has reached an agreement with Women’s World Banking (WWB), a New York based network of microfinance providers and banks, to establish strategic collaboration in the area of microinsurance. Under the arrangement, a global program will be created to pilot and roll out “caregiver” products, insurance-based solutions providing predefined benefits to clients of WWB affiliate institutions during hospitalization events. The target demographic is primarily female caregivers in low-income households. MicroInsurance Center LLC, a consultancy and research group focused on developing sustainable insurance programs, will aid in designing the endeavor. No further information regarding the specifics of the agreement is released. Continue Reading »

The cover story of the February, 2009 issue of US Banker was entitled, “Microfinance: Ready for its Big Leap?” In it, author John Engen lays out his expectations that a hybrid funding approach will arrive in microfinance sector - one that meshes government, non-profit, and business ethos in pursuit of a “double bottom line” that measures success both with respect to social benefits and financial returns. However, Mr. Engen argues that to attract more funding from private investors, MFIs need further adjustments in both their business practices and ideologies. While such adjustments may be controversial and draw criticism at present, in the long term the changes should induce competition in the sector, and so the theory goes, be beneficial. The real question then is: are MFIs ready for such a big leap? The full text is available at:  

http://www.americanbanker.com/usb_article.html?id=20090126JLCSNV6Y&pagenum=1&numpages=3 Continue Reading »

The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance organization that promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region, approved a grant of 2 million USD aimed at developing Bangladesh’s microinsurance sector. The grant is provided by the ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR). Continue Reading »