Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development bank, has partnered with UK-based Triodos Bank to start an online magazine Upsides (www.upsides.com) focusing on responsible finance and sustainable development in emerging markets. Continue Reading »

Convergences 2015, a nonprofit based in France that focuses on poverty elimination, is promoting the “Paris Appeal for Responsible Microfinance” in an effort to slow the commercialization of microfinance, arguing that it is inconsistent with development and inclusive finance. Continue Reading »

Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Ujjivan Financial Services has raised INR 127.9 crore (USD 25 million) in its fifth round of equity financing. Continue Reading »

Crowdfunding platforms, intermediary services that act as an interface between “the public” and the “crowdfunded” project, can offer increased audience size, reduced transaction costs and decreased “legislative complexities,” reportedly says Daniela Castrataro, co-founder of UK-based social media consulting agency “twintangibles” [1]. Continue Reading »

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a four-year agreement to provide a 50-percent guarantee on a loan of up to USD 2.71 million for Cambodian microfinance institution Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Limited (TPC). Sok Voeun, TPC’s chief operations officer, reportedly said that USAID “will support us in providing more loans to the agriculture sectors in the four provinces” referring to Kampong Thom, Pursat, Battambang and Siem Reap. Continue Reading »

In an article published in the US-based website Huffington Post, Melanie Walker of the US-based nonprofit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation expounds the concept of “metafinance,” which is defined as the provision of financial service that “occupies the intermediary space between individual finance and large-scale municipal finance…. It enables creditworthy individuals and families to pool their discrete capacity to save or to borrow into a single loan for a communal purpose–hence the “meta” or “transcending” dimension, extending beyond and bridging existing microfinance or municipal finance paradigms” [1]. Continue Reading »

Azure Partners, a Swiss company specializing in “socially responsible investments,” has launched Azure Global Microfinance Fund, a microfinance-focused “fund of funds” that will accept investments from both private and institutional investors [1]. Continue Reading »

UK-based relief agency Oxfam International and Swiss for-profit microfinance investment intermediary Symbiotics have jointly launched the Small Enterprise Impact Investment Fund (SEIIF) that will increase access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Africa while offering investors both “measurable social impacts and financial returns” [1]. Continue Reading »

The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a US-based advocacy organization, has partnered with Freedom from Hunger, a US-based development NGO, to provide health insurance to approximately 3.7 million people worldwide. Continue Reading »

The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, recently announced that Mr Damian von Stauffenberg, the founder of US-based microfinance rating agency MicroRate, has been named to the eligibility committee of LuxFlag’s Microfinance Label [1]. Continue Reading »

A group of eight CEOs of nonprofit microfinance organizations has issued a “Road Map for the Microfinance Industry: Focusing on Responsible and Client-Centered Microfinance.” Continue Reading »

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based nongovernmental organization, has reported to MicroCapital that it has issued a three-year loan of USD 300,000 to Tuba Rai Metin (TRM), a microfinance institution (MFI) in East Timor [1]. Continue Reading »

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance agency of the US government, has finalized its commitment to issue a 10-year loan of USD 45 million to the Microbuild Fund, a Habitat for Humanity initiative to provide loans via microfinance institutions for poor people to improve their housing situations and funding for related technical support [1] [2]. Continue Reading »

The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, has launched a request for applications for the second LuxFLAG Environment Label, which is granted to EIVs in an effort to “reassure investor[s] that labeled investment funds actually invest the majority of their assets in environment-related sectors in a responsible manner” [1]. Continue Reading »

Founded in 2011 in India, “SPM in Microfinance 24*7 Helpline” is an online resource that aims to help institutions and individuals worldwide with issues related to social performance management (SPM) in microfinance [1]. Continue Reading »

MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization that aims to provide clear information on credit products and pricing, recently released the report from its Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ethiopia which was launched in September 2011 [1]. Continue Reading »

The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International received approximately USD 200 million to launch its new subsidiary, FINCA Microfinance Holdings LLC (FMH). Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH, an Austrian investment company that specializes in microfinance, reports that the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance, a sub-fund of Absolute’s Vision Microfinance, had a total fund volume of EUR 85.8 million (USD 109 million) with loans issued to 65 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 25 emerging markets as of December 2011. Continue Reading »