MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) Announces Afghan Microfinance Sector Reaches $1b in Loan Disbursements

The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), an instrument of the Afghan government, recently announced that the microfinance sector in Afghanistan has disbursed a total of approximately USD 1 billion to low-income Afghan households since 2003.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel Microfinance Network of Arab Countries to Host Eighth Annual Conference, Amman, Jordan, June 7 – June 9, 2011

Conference Blog: http://microlinks.kdid.org/learning-marketplace/blogs/sanabel-annual-conference-plenary-panel-%E2%80%9Cstate-sector%E2%80%9D-and-impacts-politi

Event Name: Sanabel’s Eighth Annual Conference – “Microfinance in the Arab Region: Challenges of the Past and Opportunities of the Future”

Event Date: June 7, 2011 to June 9, 2011

Event Location: Le Meridien Hotel, Amman, Jordan

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Afghanistan Issues Electronic Money Institution License to M-Paisa

The Central Bank of Afghanistan has issued an electronic money institution (EMI) license to M-Paisa, a mobile technology platform that provides financial services targeted at those without access to banking.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Reaching the Poorest: Lessons from the Graduation Model, by Syed M Hashemi, Aude de Montesquiou; Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)

By Syed M Hashemi and Aude de Montesquiou; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), March 2011, 16 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.50806/Reaching_the_Poorest.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $3m to Palestine for Credit and Development (FATEN) for Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in West Bank, Gaza

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 3 million to Palestine for Credit and Development (FATEN in Arabic), a microfinance institution based in the West Bank in Palestine, to provide financial products and services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the West Bank and Gaza.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Providing Islamic Microfinance Services in Iraq Face Governance Constraints Relating to Shariah Law

T Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and executive director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq-based consulting company, recently reported that there are currently six microfinance institutions (MFIs) providing Islamic microfinance services across the Anbar, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Tikrit regions of Iraq. One of these is Al-Takadum, which operates in the Anbar region, the others are not named.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Microfinance Blog Explores Effects of Arab Upheaval on Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

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].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen Fund Makes Equity Investment of $1.9m in Pakistani National Rural Support Program (NRSP) Microfinance Bank

Acumen Fund, a US-based nonprofit global venture fund that invests in entrepreneurial approaches to tackle poverty, recently made an equity investment of USD 1.9 million in the National Rural Support Program (NRSP) Microfinance Bank, a Pakistani microfinance institution (MFI) [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Launch “Arab Secured Transactions Initiative” to Boost Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional organization that supports economic development in the Arab world, recently launched the Arab Secured Transactions Initiative to encourage lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Closes $6.9m Loan to Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited (TMFB) With Support of State Bank of Pakistan’s Micro Finance Credit Guarantee Facility

Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited, a subsidiary of UK-based Standard Chartered PLC, has closed a PKR 600 million (USD 6.95 million), two-year loan to Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited, a licensed commercial bank that provides microfinance services in Pakistan. As of December 31, 2008, Tameer has total assets of USD 29.1 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 11.5 million and 43,000 active borrowers.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP Launches Islamic Microfinance Blog Series Featuring Finalists of Global Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010: Al Amal of Yemen, Tanzania ecoVolunteerism, Bisma of Indonesia and Tameer, CWCD of Pakistan

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/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases Benchmarking Reports on West Africa and Arab Region

Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a nonprofit, US-based data provider, recently released its “2010 WAEMU – Microfinance Analysis & Benchmarking Report “ and “2010 Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report”.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysian Islamic Banking Team Visits Interest-Free Shariah Microfinance Program Developed by US-based Helping Hand for Relief and Development

A team from the Islamic Shariah Research Academy, a Malaysian outfit aimed at providing avenues for the development of Islamic finance, recently visited an interest-free microfinance program based on Islamic lending principles that was developed by Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), a US-based humanitarian relief and global development outfit that operates in 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The team, headed by Dr Lal Akram Din, chairman of the academy, came to Islamabad, Pakistan, to learn how HHRD incorporates Islamic practices such as murabaha, a form of interest-free loans, into its microfinance programs. Dr Din reportedly suggested that Malaysian microfinance institutions (MFIs) could benefit by implementing some of the practices employed by HHRD.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius, April 5 – 6, 2011, to Include Microfinance Session

Event Name: International Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance

Event Date: April 5 – April 6, 2011

Event Location: Quatre Bornes, Mauritius

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Insurance Provider Tokio Marine Middle East Eyes Expansion in Egypt, Sees Political Shake-Up as Opportunity for Microinsurance

Ajmal Bhatty, chief executive of Tokio Marine Middle East, a “takaful” (Islamic insurance) provider based in Dubai, reportedly has stated that the recent political turmoil in Egypt will create a greater need for financial protection in the country and will hence provide Tokio Marine an opportunity to further extend its takaful services to the Egyptian market.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al Amal Bank of Yemen Wins Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010

Al Amal Bank, a microfinance bank in Yemen, will be awarded USD 104,000 for winning the Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010, a contest that promotes the design of Shariah-compliant products for Islamic microfinance clients. Al Amal’s proposal for the competition was to test-run an Islamic leasing product, funding the pilot through its Islamic investment product and achieving operational and financial sustainability by 2012.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Farz Foundation Hosts First National Islamic Microfinance Conference in Lahore, Pakistan, Promotes Farz Methodology

The Farz Foundation, an Islamic microfinance institution (MFI) based in Pakistan, recently hosted the first National Islamic Microfinance Conference in Lahore, Pakistan, in an effort to develop solutions for the microfinance industry in Pakistan.