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Friday, September 26, 2008
The High Court of Tanzania ruled against the striking workers of National Microfinance Bank (NMB) in a recent decision. The strike, which lasted one day, was in response to the failure of workers to receive their lump sum benefit payments after the first round of NMB privatization in 2005. NMB claims that they cannot give the payments to workers because the government still has not transferred the money to the bank. Despite the resumption of duties, customers complained of poor service and several ATM machines ran out of money. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fina Bank, a Kenyan-based commercial firm will be expanding its branches into Uganda starting October 2008. This decision by the bank comes as part of a larger regional expansion which began when they first ventured outside of Kenya into Rwanda in 2004. Since then Fina Bank has expanded upon this strategy and plans to open five branches within Uganda within five months. It is also on a domestic expansion, as 12 new branches will be opened in Kenya by the end of 2008. Branches in Rwanda will be renovated and placed in areas where more microenterprises have been established. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Workers at Tanzanian’s National Microfinance Bank (NMB) have gone on strike after not receiving a lump sum benefit payment that was supposed to be paid to NMB by the government after an initial round of privatization in 2005. NMB’s management, who describe the strike as “illegal,” contends that the bank cannot pay the lump sum to workers because the government is yet to finalize the payment to NMB. The workers are represented by the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO). Continue Reading »
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Originally reported by Nigerian news agency This Day, Mathius Kura, the Plateau State Branch Controller of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a bank aligned with the Nigerian government to drive regulation and policy, noted the irony in how little participation there is in microfinance bank industries in the northern states of Nigeria. Kura was speaking at a one-day workshop - Micro-finance, Problems and Prospects - organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). Kura observed that the Anambra state alone has over 100 microfinance banks; a value that surpasses that of the entire north put together, excluding Kwara State. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development will provide USD $27 million in debt capital to support the expansion of microlending activity in Nigeria, with the goal of creating a sustainable rural financial system in the West African nation. Co-financed with nonprofit Ford Foundation, the financing aims to build ties between Nigerian MFIs and formal financial institutions in twelve Nigerian provinces. While Nigerian MFIs currently provide services to a variety of demographics, IFAD hopes that the capital infusion will particularly improve access to financial services to women, young people, and other marginalized groups. It is unclear whether IFAD’s financial assistance will be allocated to a Nigerian government agency such as central bank, or if it will be allocated directly to MFIs operating in-country. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
According to the Vanguard, microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nigeria are in talks with Government Banks, known as discount houses, about establishing an inter-bank money market. The market would allow MFIs to lend to each other on a short term basis, allowing them to earn extra returns or cover temporary shortfalls in liquidity. The practice is common in banking sectors around the world. Continue Reading »
Friday, August 29, 2008
Controversy has arisen over the governance and operations of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nigeria. A recent Daily Sun article reported that Pastor Kehinde Alaba, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State University Micro Finance Bank (LMFB), believes that government restrictions hinder the ability of MFIs to provide quality financial services to the poor. Meanwhile, members of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently made comments suggesting that MFI mangers were acting inappropriately and it may be necessary to revoke the licenses of egregious offenders. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Findings from a recent public health study suggest that the provision of microfinance and business training services to impoverished women were associated with a significant reduction in risk behaviors for HIV contraction. The study monitored the effects of IMAGE (Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity), a research-oriented microfinance program that is co-administered by nonprofit MFI Small Enterprise Foundation and the university-sponsored RADAR research initiative. Essentially, the study’s findings suggest that the economic empowerment women derive from a microenterprise is capable of severing a financial dependence on their husband, a circumstance which frequently prevents women from negotiating safer methods of sexual intercourse. Unprotected sex amongst married couples is particularly risky in some societies, because extra-marital affairs are socially-acceptable and a common occurrence among married men. Continue Reading »
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Co-operative Insurance Company (CIC) is introducing new microinsurance products in Kenya. The project, which is in conjunction with the International Labor Organizations’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the Swedish Co-operative Center (SCC), will allow approximately one million low-income Kenyans benefit from “comprehensive family insurance.” Continue Reading »
Monday, August 18, 2008
Advans SA, a Luxembourgian venture capital firm that specializes in microfinance ventures, recently announced it raised EUR 7 million (USD 10.5 million) in equity capital from CDC Group, a private equity fund of funds sponsored by the British government. CDC’s investment aims to support Advans’ expansion of investments in Asian and African microfinance institutions (MFIs). The deal will consist of two financing rounds: CDC has committed to an initial round of EUR 3 million (USD 4.5 million) in equity, and plans to invest EUR 4 million (USD 6.5 million) of equity during a subsequent round of Advans-planned fundraising in early 2009. Continue Reading »
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