Polaris Software Lab Limited (Polaris), an India-based banking and insurance software company, and MFI Enterprise Solutions (MFIES), an information technology solutions provider and subsidiary of the MFI Group, recently signed a strategic agreement to “modernize” Ethiopian finance through software and software training. Continue Reading »

Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, recently announced the issuance of standards of use for its Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI), a tool developed by Grameen for tracking and reporting poverty data as reported by MicroCapital on February 26, 2009. Continue Reading »

The US-based financial services technology provider, Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC), has signed an agreement with Philippine wireless service provider, Smart Communications Inc. (SMART), to offer delivery of remittances to the Philippines. Continue Reading »

Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, recently announced it is partnering with SunGard, a global software and technology company, which will provide a dedicated team of technology and consulting professionals from its Global Services business unit to provide support to Grameen’s Mifos technology team and users. Continue Reading »

The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced the official launch of “Mifos.com,” a website that it will use to promote Mifos, its free, open-source microfinance institution (MFI) management software package. Continue Reading »

CARE International UK, an affiliate of the aid agency CARE International, has launched www.lendwithcare.org, a microfinance website through which the public may provide funding to CARE’s partner microfinance institutions. Continue Reading »

MicroPlanet Technologies Incorporated, a US-based nonprofit that serves the technology needs of microfinance institutions (MFIs), has announced the release of its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) core banking software platform. Continue Reading »

Kenyan mobile phone operator, Safaricom, has reported that in July 2010 it added approximately 1.7 million new customers to its money transfer system, M-Pesa. As MicroCapital reported July 27, 2010, much of the increase comes as a result of recent Kenyan government regulation which requires registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards by mobile phone users and that mobile phone operators in Kenya have been encouraging subscribers to simultaneously activate a mobile bank account. Continue Reading »

Mr Vijay Pratap Singh, co-founder and CEO of Indian information and communication technology (ICT) provider Ekgaon Technologies, recently was interviewed by microfinance news website, MicrofinanceFocus.com concerning the impact of ICT on microfinance. Mr Singh claims that up to now, new technology has been “reluctantly received” and “half-heartedly implemented” by microfinance institutions (MFIs). Of impediments to progress, he notes that some MFIs have been unwilling to modify operational models to accommodate the new technologies. More importantly, he claims that MFIs are unable to utilize the full potential of ICT because they are unwilling to invest in operational efficiency, specifically in human resources. Continue Reading »

The Knowledge-Driven International Development (KDID) Portal is a family of websites established to maximize the effectiveness of economic development assistance by connecting development practitioners to spread innovation and good practice. Continue Reading »

The State Bank of India (SBI) has recently announced that it has entered a partnership with payment service provider, Oxigen Services Private Limited, to offer kiosk-based banking services opening connections directly to SBI’s Core Banking System from existing, internet-ready Oxigen retail locations. The partnership, in conjunction with the SBI business correspondent Sahyog Microfinance Foundation, will use existing Oxigen retailers as customer service points (CSPs) of Sahyog to carry out banking transactions on behalf of the national bank. Sahyog branches, in turn, already function as CPSs of SBI. Continue Reading »

ThoughtWorks, a global technology company based in the US state of Illinois, has announced that it will provide software engineering services for The Grameen Foundation’s Mifos Platform, a software platform launched in 2006. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, has recently released the Portuguese version of its most recent report on microfinance in Brazil, entitled “The 2009 Brazil Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report.” Continue Reading »

As a result of new Kenyan government regulation which requires registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by mobile phone users, the country is experiencing growth in the mobile banking population because mobile phone operators in Kenya are encouraging subscribers to simultaneously activate a mobile bank account. Continue Reading »

Making Cents International, a United States-based nonprofit social services organization focused on developing the youth enterprise sector, recently announced the launch of the Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage Program (the YFS-Link), which is an online portal for financial services providers and youth-serving organizations to network about youth-inclusive financial services. Continue Reading »

MTN Ghana, a member of the MTN Group, a mobile telecommunication service provider based in South Africa, recently launched its latest financial services product, MTN Mobile Money, in Cape Coast, Ghana. Continue Reading »

Village Financial Services Private Limited (VFS), a microfinance institution (MFI) in eastern India, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a consumer goods company based in Mumbai, India, to improve access to safe drinking water. The partnership will enable poor households to take a loan at a zero rate of interest to buy HUL’s Pureit water purifiers. Continue Reading »

PesaPot – a technology company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya – has announced a partnership with RedCloud – a technology platform that offers access to financial services over the internet – to provide mobile technology to the microfinance sector in Kenya. The alliance will provide microfinance institutions (MFIs) with technology that is intended to both improve the efficiency of their operations as well as reduce costs. Continue Reading »