An agreement was signed between the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Informal Sector Fund, HFC Bank Ghana Limited, and Boafo Microfinance Services Limited to encourage the administration of credit to informal sector entrepreneurs who are contributors of SSNIT. Each of the collaborators will play an active role in the agreement, the purpose of which is to strengthen the economic security of people in the informal sectors, through the growth of businesses and occupational pension funds, in order to assist in the guarantee of economically stable households. The agreement has been conveyed by Director of the SSNIT informal sector fund, Dr. Francis Sapara-Grant, as an indication of “the need to harness the efforts of complementary institutions in the promotion of the welfare of the elderly and the eradication of destitution from the country” and a demonstration “that the business of providing social protection to the Ghanaian worker has assumed a different dimension through this creative and innovative approach”. Continue Reading »

K-Rep Bank CEO Kimanthi Mutua attributed a recorded loss in profit totalling Sh 209 million (USD 2.6 million) to post-election violence and massive investment in the bank’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The Daily Nation reported that Kenya’s K-Rep Bank reported a loss in profit according to an unaudited financial report ending September 30, 2008. The majority of K-Rep clients are low-income entrepreneurs located in neighbourhoods that were badly affected by the post-election violence. Shareholders have injected an additional Sh 1 billion (USD 12.7 million), which will be used to diversify and create new products to increase the bank’s market share and further develop ICT infrastructure, such as Temenos 24. In September 2007 K-Rep Bank reported profits of Sh146 million (USD 1.86 million). Continue Reading »

On November 18, the MasterCard Foundation, a private foundation in Toronto, Canada, and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI), targeted two million Ugandans with a USD 19.6 microfinance program.  The need for deeper, more mature microfinance markets in Uganda is strong, implies a recent Business Wire story.  The government made expanding financial services for the rural poor a “top priority” in a country where more than 37 percent of the population live on less than a dollar a day and 62 percent do not have access to financial services. Continue Reading »

Citibank issued a 30 million/- (USD 23.8 thousand) grant to BRAC Tanzania in support of microfinance activities in the Vingunguti area of Tanzania, according to a report in Tanzania’s Daily News Online. This will be the second time in two years that Citibank has provided funds to BRAC Tanzania, the first time was in 2007 and the amount was 24 million/- (USD 19 thousand). The article reported that the CEO for Citibank Africa, Zdenek Turec and CEO of Citibank East Africa, Ade Ayeyemi presented the grant to BRAC Tanzania after visiting the Vingunuti area. The article in the Daily News did not provide further details, and there were no reports from either BRAC or Citibank on the grant. Continue Reading »

Source: Unitus Inc.
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Buusaa Gonofaa, an Ethiopian microfinance institution (MFI) has won the 2nd European Microfinance Award, which is worth EUR 100,000 in prize money. The prize, provided by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, was announced at the European Microfinance Week event (12–14 Nov), hosted by the European Microfinance Platform. This year’s award was designed to recognise and reward microfinance players who had produced outstanding work in the area of social responsibility. Buusaa Gonofaa were rewarded for their development of an innovative system for determining customer needs and evaluating changes in their social well-being. Continue Reading »

Opportunity International, one of the world’s largest microfinance organizations, received a $1.2 million grant from the John Deere Foundation to provide increased access to financing for the hunger-afflicted in Africa. OI forecasts that the grant will have a $10.6 million economic impact over the next three years. The grant will be used to benefit farmers, food processors and retailers and their ability to provide affordable food to the rural poor in Malawi and Mozambique. Continue Reading »

NOVEMBER 20, 2008, 12:00pm to 4:00pm Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a new condition of receiving Microfinance Bank (MFB) licenses.  Going forward, only microfinance institutions that are ready to operate in rural areas will be given licenses.  This new condition follows the recent statements, reported on MicroCapital, by Charles Soludo, Governor of the CBN, that only 12 of 36 Nigerian states contribute to microfinance.  On a combined basis, these 12 states have contributed USD 1.26 million to microfinance.  The new condition is an attempt to create more balance in the availability of financial services across the rural and urban areas.  Mr. Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor, Financial Sector Surveillance, CBN, said that the central bank will give special, rapid consideration to any microfinance institutions seeking to begin operations in rural, underserved  states. 

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The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced in a press release that it will explore emerging microfinance investment opportunities in Southern Sudan. Jean Philippe Prosper, the IFC Director for Southern and Eastern Africa recently visited Southern Sudan and reported that, “More stable conditions on the ground and an improved business environment have created the right conditions for IFC and other investors to consider new investments in Southern Sudan”. An investment climate team from IFC and FIAS, a multidonor investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group, has been providing assistance to Southern Sudan since 2006. Continue Reading »

Source: USAID.
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The Nigeria Police Force Microfinance Bank Plc (NPFMB), posted gross earnings of N943m, approximately USD 8 million, representing 48 percent growth over last year’s earnings.  Total assets increased by 8.4 percent to N4.6 billion, or USD 39.5 million and loans and advances grew by 12.8 percent.  The bank announced a dividend of N146 million, or USD 1.24 million, representing 51 percent of after tax profit. Continue Reading »

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) launched the Microfinance Support Framework to serve as a funding mechanism aimed at providing loans to organizations that support development through inexpensive microcredit. DBN was established in 2002 through an Act of Parliament with the goal of improving citizens’ welfare and quality of life through increased economic activity and improved infrastructure.  Through this framework, N$42 million, approximately USD 4.1 million, will be made available to credible microfinancing institutions to extend their products countrywide.  Namibia’s President Hifikepunye Pohamba described the framework as an important initiative that falls directly in line with the DBN Act.  Pohamba encouraged the business community to be more innovative in its approach, cautioning that, “It makes little sense for all of us to be shebeen owners,” referencing the country’s bars or pubs. Continue Reading »

ACCION International, a microfinance organization founded in 1961, launched a new hub office and training center in Accra, Ghana, with the aim to expand financial services for Africa’s poorest populations. The new center will offer support to East and West African microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the form of education and training to increase capacity. According to the press release, ACCION’s goals are to train 3,000 microfinance practitioners in such disciplines as business planning, risk management, lending and governance; all through its training center network. Continue Reading »

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Charles Soludo, said in Lagos on Tuesday that only 12 out of 36 states in the country have contributed to microfinance activities in their states to the tune of N12.08 billion, approximately USD 1.26 million.  The governor of the apex bank who was speaking at the launch of Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFINA), a nongovernmental organization, named the states (rank by population) as Zamfara (21), Delta (12), Lagos (2), Ekiti (29), Kebbi (23), Kwara (30), Ondo (18), Kogi (20), Cross River (27), Benue (9), Anambra (10), Osun (19) and Oyo (5).  Lagos state has disbursed N620 million, or USD 5.3 million, within one year through selected microfinance banks, Delta state has disbursed N600 million, approximately USD 5.1 million, through Oceanic Bank and some microfinance banks while Osun disbursed N99.78 million, approximately  USD 8.5 million, through the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB). Continue Reading »

Source: Planet Finance.
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Source: Namibian.
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A recent study funded by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC) has revealed that rural women accessing microfinance in Ghana continue to face barriers when compared with men. Dr. Irene S. Egyir, Lead Researcher on the project and Lecturer at the University of Ghana, spoke at a sensitization workshop saying that although women were participating in productive sectors, their lack of access to microfinance made it difficult for them to play their roles effectively, reported in The Ghanaian Journal. The research indicated that though most financial institutions had embraced the challenge of assisting micro businesses, females continued to receive less access to such credits. Continue Reading »