The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral financial institution, has launched the Spanish language “Microfinance in Latin America” blog in an effort to explore the role of microfinance in financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. Continue Reading »

In recent articles published on the websites of newspapers The Guardian of the UK and The Wall Street Journal of the US, journalists, academics and practitioners express concerns about various topics in the microfinance sector including social performance measurement, commercialization and changing methodologies. Continue Reading »

A recent brief published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) examines different approaches to measuring changes in client lives that may be attributed to microfinance. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by President Bindu Ananth of IFMR Trust, an affiliate of India’s nonprofit Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), that argues the importance of “matching types of accounts to types of needs” based on several examples from India[1].

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The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Mohammed Khaled, CGAP representative for the Middle East-North Africa Region, that explores the impact of the recent leadership change in Tunisia on microfinance regulation in the country. Continue Reading »

As part of a series on branchless banking around the world, a post was recently published on the CGAP Technology Blog, a website operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), covering regulatory developments in the Mexican microfinance sector. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Ignacio Mas of the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that examines the role that mobile phones can play in facilitating broader financial inclusion by delivering savings, payment and budgeting services. Continue Reading »

Enterprise Development and Microfinance (EDM), a journal published by UK-based NGO Practical Action, has issued a call for articles for its December 2011 issue, “Investing in Microfinance Institutions”, which is slated to “explore key issues in microfinance investing” [1]. Continue Reading »

A recent article on the CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), examines the outcome of a discussion on information initiatives in strengthening the microfinance industry that was recently held by CGAP and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit. At the event, which was held in Nepal, representatives of microfinance organizations from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal discussed the following efforts: 1)Annual state of the sector reports such as the Pakistan Microfinance Network’s (PMN’s) Pakistan Microfinance Review, ACCESS Development’s India: A State of the Sector Report, and rating agency M-CRIL’s Microfinance Analytics Report ; 2)Access mapping such as Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan’s (MISFA’s) monthly performance reports, PMN’s Micro WATCH in Pakistan and Sa-Dhan’s Microfinance Map of India; and 3)Interest rate transparency such as the report on India from US-based nonprofit MFTransparency. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Technology Blog, operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Kabir Kumar and Yanina Seltzer that reviews branchless banking in Brazil, whereby agents such as retailers and post offices serve as links between banks and customers. The article is the first of a planned series that examines the state of branchless banking in different countries. Continue Reading »

Alan Patricof, Founder and Managing Director of US-based venture capital company Greycroft Partners, argues in a recent issues of Fortune magazine that while microfinance institutions (MFIs) “do play an important role in development, there is an even greater need to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have the greatest potential for job growth in most places around the world” [1]. Continue Reading »

Ignacio Mas, Senior Advisor to the Financial Services for the Poor Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and John Staley, Director of Finance and Shared Services at Equity Bank of Kenya, recently posted an entry on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) blog titled “Are We Serious About Financial Inclusion for All?” [1]. Mr Mas and Mr Staley highlight the importance of increasing access to financial services in developing countries and outline their four suggestions for regulators and financial service providers to advance financial inclusion. Continue Reading »

A new Focus Note from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) examines data from CGAP’s annual surveys on cross-border microfinance funding to provide an overview of the microfinance funding landscape and trends in cross-border funding [1]. Continue Reading »

CGAP Microfinance Blog, operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Mohammed Khaled, a CGAP representative for the Middle East-North Africa Region, that explores the implications for microfinance institutions (MFIs) of the recent wave of demonstrations and resulting leadership changes that have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr Khaled says that while it “could be too early to analyze the impact of recent events in the Arab world on microfinance, one can conclude some general and common lessons despite differences among countries” [1]. Mr Khaled argues that the following areas are of the utmost importance: emergency plans, strategic partnerships with clients, internal control systems and job creation [1]. Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group, recently launched a series on its microfinance blog to promote discussions of savings services for poor people. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), is featuring a series on Islamic microfinance that profiles the winner and finalists of the Islamic Microfinance Challenge and others in an effort to engage with the broader microfinance and Islamic finance communities to find new ways to support the Islamic microfinance sector. The Islamic Microfinance Series can be found at http://microfinance.cgap.org/category/blog-series/islamic-microfinance-series/ Continue Reading »

An article by Fehmeen Ahmed Khan, the founder of the Microfinance Hub Blog, and Saman Nizami, a finance consultant, recently appeared on the Microfinance Focus website arguing the business case for urging microfinance institutions (MFIs) to embrace consumer protection principles. Continue Reading »

An article was published recently on the website of the Economic Times newspaper defending the Indian microfinance industry from more regulation, especially caps that might restrict the profitability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »