On November 20, CashNetUSA, a Chicago-based short-term online lender, announced that it will begin receiving its non-traditional credit data from the DataX Credit Reporting Agency (DataX), a Las Vegas-based data collection agency for the financial sector. DataX will collect and provide credit information to CashNetUSA on clients seeking micro-loans and other financial services. Although Microcapital typically covers only those newsworthy developments with an international scope, this new relationship between two American firms has been reported because of its potential spillover effects for international microfinance. Continue Reading »

Telenor Pakistan, a subsidiary of Telenor, a Norwegian communications, IT, and media company, has acquired 51 percent of Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited (TMBL) for PKR 1 billion, approximately USD 12.5 million, sources say.  Established in 2001, Tameer Microfinance Bank is a USD 20.3 million commercial microfinance bank in Pakistan.  The transaction is subject to full regulatory approval including a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the State Bank of Pakistan.  This partnership with Telenor will extend the bank’s operation and network across the country, specifically in rural areas, to promote the microfinance business in the country. Continue Reading »

Globe Telecom, the second largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, has announced a partnership with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) to utilize mobile banking technology in rural poverty stricken provinces. Specifically, Globe Telecom’s wholly owned mobile commerce business, G-XChange Inc. (GXI), intends to use its GCASH service to make it possible for poor people in the low-income rural provinces of Bohol, Surigao and Palawan to access basic financial services. Continue Reading »

The Partnership for Lebanon (PFL), an organization focused on creating sustainable social and economic growth in the region, recently hosted an event highlighting the creation of several new initiatives by some partner organizations. The event brought together Lebanese business sector leaders, economic organizations, various governmental entities, press and partners. Cisco Systems and Intel Corporation were a few of the organizations on hand to present the new programs. Continue Reading »

Vikram Akula, founder of SKS Microfinance (SKS ), has announced plans to step down from the role of CEO after 10 years.  Mr. Akula says that this change will allow him to focus on a new initiative - microinsurance.  As MicroCapital reported earlier this year, SKS partnered with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company to offer insurance products toclients.  This announcement comes amid rapid growth in the company. Suresh Gurumani, Director, Barclays Bank, will take over as SKS Microfinance’s CEO.  An official transition date was not given.  

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United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently published a note about efforts in India to provide an integrated approach in addressing poverty alleviation, global health and energy. Shortage of cooking fuel is a key problem in India where approximately 260 million of the country’s total 1.2 billion population live below the poverty line. Some households burn cow dung cakes as an alternative fuel source, creating environmental hazards and causing harmful health consequences, including acute respiratory infections in children. According to a 2006 Shell Foundation Report, deaths linked to biomass smoke exposure compete with malaria as the leading cause of death in adults in developing nations every year. Continue Reading »

ClassifEye, a developer of secure fingerprint authentication technology, announced that Cashpor India, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has adopted ClassifEye’s camera-phone-based transactions and authentication solution. Casphor hopes to broaden its customer base and allow their agent-serviced customers to improve their financial reach. Cashpor India is piloting the service in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Continue Reading »

NOVEMBER 18 TO NOVEMBER 20, 2008, INTERNET FORUM BY MICROLINKS

Over the course of three days, MicroLinks will host a “Speaker’s Corner” entitled “Microfinance and Climate Change: Can Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Promote Environmental Sustainability?”  Speaker’s Corner events are online conferences or forums for the purpose of engaging current microenterprise and microfinance issues.  This forum will be hosted by Dan Lundmark, a documentary producer and director currently working on a film highlighting the environmental policies and impacts of MFIs and microenterprises in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.  Several panelists will join the forum from GreenMicrofinance: Joan Hall, Elizabeth Israel, Thomas Israel, Kathleen Robbins, Betsy Teutsch, and Bela Vora.  Panelists from Indian MFIs will include Manab Chakraborty from MIMO Finance, Paul Moonjely from Wesco Credit, and Paul Thomas from the Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF). Continue Reading »

Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd. (FINO), a technology organization that produces biometric smartcards and micro-loan management software, has completed 2 million enrollments of customers in India. The number of enrollments increased from 1 million to 2 million in less than 4 months with an average of 20,000 customers being enrolled per day. FINO’s rapid growth is in part due to the extensive network of banks and other financial and government institutions utilizing their technology. That network includes Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, DGB, ICICI Bank, ING Vysya, OBC, PNB, and UBI. Continue Reading »

Posted by Michael Chasnow at 6:03pm on Friday, September 26, 2008, available at: http://www.indiadevelopmentblog.com/

Michael Chasnow recently called attention to this interactive map of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) state-by-state.  On the website of Sa-Dhan, an association of Indian community development institutions, users can click on each state in India to learn which MFIs operate in what districts of each state.  Districts are divided into “poor” and “other” (i.e. richer) districts.  Only the names of the MFIs are provided on the interactive “Microfinance Map”; however, users can find out more detailed information on MFI activity in each state by clicking on the “Portfolio, Outreach & MFIs List” tab.    Continue Reading »

MOBILE BANKING FOR THE POOR: PIONEER PERSPECTIVES

DECEMBER 11, 2008, 2:00PM - 5:00PM, WORLD BANK HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) will be hosting a discussion on the CGAP Technology Blog on how mobile phone banking can deliver a range of financial services to poor people and change lives for the better. Continue Reading »

Posted by Michael Chasnow at 10:10pm on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, available at: http://www.indiadevelopmentblog.com/

The following piece is a summary of a health-focused microfinance project in Orissa, India, organized by professors from Duke and Stanford and the Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA, an Indian non-governmental organization (NGO) started in 1994 that focuses on sustainable development). The project involves providing insecticide treated bednets (ITNs) to low-income households in a malaria-infested region of Western Orissa, India. Michael Chasnow has visited Orissa and summarizes and comments on the project below: Continue Reading »

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has granted US$1.7 million to PlaNet Finance to fund a mobile banking project aimed at providing microfinance clients with enhanced access to banking services. The project was co-developed with mobile operator Orange and is attempting to facilitate cost-effective access to microfinance services and products for microentrepreneurs living in remote areas who cannot afford the time or the money to travel to the nearest bank or microfinance institution. Continue Reading »

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) began offering a new design course this year called the NextLab Initiative which focuses on catering mobile technologies to the needs of users in developing countries. The projects in the class are comprised of three to five students with multi-disciplinary backgrounds and involve partnerships with localized field practitioners and non governmental organizations (NGOs). Students with technically and socially viable prototypes may obtain funding to prepare their technologies for full fledged deployment into the real world. The primary goals of the course projects are: Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the leading microfinance think tank housed at the World Bank, recently posted an interview with with Naushad Contractor about India’s mobile banking trends in their technology blog. Naushad heads marketing for mobile commerce at Vodafone Essar ltd., India. He is also on the regulatory committee of the Mobile Payments Forum of India. He was a member of the core team that launched and made Remit2India.com the World’s No.1 Independent Money Transfer Portal for Non Resident Indians. Continue Reading »

Source: UBmatrix. Continue Reading »

Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Laboratory (EFL) received a grant from the philanthropic arm of Google last week. The grant totals $710,000 and will be used by EFL to develop ways to screen loan applicants in developing nations. Professor Asim ljaz Khwaja of the Kennedy School of Government, and Bailey Klinger, a fellow at the School’s Center for International Development, were the recipients of the grant. The two created the EFL in 2007 and have since directed its research. Continue Reading »

Blog Action Day (BAD08) is an annual nonprofit event focused on uniting the world’s bloggers, podcasters, and videocasters to post about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to raise awareness and generate a global discussion on one issue. The theme this year was poverty and the event took place on October 15^th. Beginning this year the organizers will be compiling a selection of the best posts from the day into a short report for distribution to NGOs and the public, to showcase some of the innovative ideas and actions that came out of the dialogue. The event generates a huge influx of web searches on the theme and organizers estimate that 13 million individuals visited over 12 thousand participating blogs. Continue Reading »