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Monday, November 10, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Code of Ethics Signed at Jordanian Government Ceremony by Local MFIs Microfund for Women, Alwatani, Al-Ahli Microfinance Company, Tamweelcom, Middle East Microcredit Company (MEMCO), FINCA-Jordan, and the Development and Employment Fund (DEF)

Figures released by Jordan’s Planning Ministry indicate that over 120,000 citizens have borrowed from local microfinance institutions (MFIs) with loans outstanding at JD 65 million, the dollar equivalent of over USD 91 million.  Specifically, 7 Jordanian MFIs were recognized at a Ministry ceremony where each signed a code of ethics governing this joint effort. Continue Reading »



Saturday, October 25, 2008

NEWS WIRE: Microcredit : Altruism or Eploitation?

SOURCE: The Daily Star

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Bank Group Publishes Online Database of Global Remittance Prices to Improve Price Transparency in Remittance Provision Markets

The World Bank Group recently published a publicly-available online database of global remittance prices in 120 “country corridors” (i.e. two countries between which remittances are transferred) with the aim of informing low-income migrant workers and households in emerging economies.   While global leaders have talked about reducing remittance-sending costs for some time, little has been done on the issue in the way of substantial quantitative data until now, says remittances specialist Dilip Ratha.     Continue Reading »



Monday, October 20, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: How Will The Center For Financial Inclusion Positively Affect Commercial Microfinance?

ACCION International, a microfinance organization founded in 1961 to address the desperate poverty in Latin America’s cities, has recently launched The Center For Financial Inclusion , a collaborative effort to promote commercial microfinance and simultaneously ensure that the needs of poor clients are being met. A key aspect of the Center is to connect the expertise of the non-profit, private and academic sectors to enhance the quality of microfinance. It is a sign of the times as commercial banks have been increasingly involved in socially responsible investing and the debate about what role for-profit activity should play in the microfinance sector continues to intensify. Continue Reading »



Monday, October 13, 2008

PRESS RELEASE: 2007 Global Microfinance Institution Benchmarks Now Available

Source: Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc.
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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Ernst & Young Donates $1m of In-Kind Resources to Assist Kiva Microfunds with Accounting

Ernst & Young LLP (E&Y), a “Big Four” accounting firm headquartered in London, has donated up to USD 1 million of in-kind resources over the next three years to provide oversight and accountability to the micro-lending process of Kiva Microfunds LLC, a micro-lending website that connects individual lenders with target entrepreneurs via microfinance institutions (MFIs).  The partnership was announced at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) summit, an annual gathering of global leaders in government, business and civil society for the purpose of discussing pressing development challenges and their solutions. Continue Reading »



Monday, September 29, 2008

NEWS WIRE: Microfinance Leaders Launch Campaign for Client Protection at Clinton Global Initiative

Source: CSR Wire.
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Friday, September 19, 2008

NEWS WIRE: New Microfinance Center to Foster Financial Inclusion of World’s Poor through Private-Sector Engagement

Source: MarketWatch

Original press release available here. Continue Reading »



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: New Organization, Microfinance Transparency, to Track Microfinance Interest Rates

A new United States non-profit organization, MicroFinance Transparency (MF Transparency), will publish the interest rates and other basic information about the lending practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide. Supported by many throughout the world of microfinance, the founding of this new organization comes at a time of fierce debate over the role of commercial microfinance. Continue Reading »



Tuesday, July 22, 2008

PRESS RELEASE: WOCCU Releases Technical Guide on Credit Union Regulation and Supervision

Source: Microfinance Gateway. Continue Reading »



Tuesday, July 15, 2008

PAPER WRAP-UP: Governance Issues in Microfinance

Produced by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nigeria PRISMS Project, for presentation at the International Year of the Microcredit (IYMC) Workshop, 16 December 2005, 8 pages, available here. Continue Reading »



Wednesday, July 9, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Nepal Unveils National Policy on Microfinance

Nepal’s government recently unveiled a new national microfinance policy that aims to expand the lending capacity of its microfinance sector by addressing problems that have arisen from the relatively unregulated industry. Continue Reading »



Tuesday, May 27, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Launched in July 2006, the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) has Awarded its Microfinance Label to Five Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs) and Attained Listing on the Centrale de Communications Luxembourg (CCLux) Database

Earlier this year, the Centrale de Communications Luxembourg (CCLux), a subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, began listing the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) Microfinance Label as a searchable classification on its online Consultation Portal. For users of CCLux, this means that they can now quickly and easily identify microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) which have been approved by LuxFLAG. Continue Reading »



Tuesday, May 27, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Code of Ethics Proposed for Microfinance

At the Microfinance Leaders Retreat, a meeting to discuss the future development of microfinance, leaders of microfinance institutions, investment organizations and development agencies agreed that a code of ethics aimed at guiding lending practices of microfinance institutions should be established. Continue Reading »



Wednesday, April 30, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The World Bank Gives $6mn to Rwandan Government for Microfinance Sector Reforms

The World Bank will grant USD 6 million to the Rwandan government for the ongoing reform of the microfinance sector. The injection will also support the improvement of auditing and accounting standards and strengthen the regulation and supervision of non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) and microfinance institutions (MFI). Continue Reading »



Tuesday, April 29, 2008

PAPER WRAP-UP: Benchmarking Azerbaijan Microfinance 2006, Nigar Pirmamedova

Authored by Nigar Pirmamedova, the Chief Accountant and Financial Manager for the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA), a Baku-based institution with 22 member organizations, in partnership with the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), released January 2008, nine pages, available at http://www.mixmbb.org/Publications/002-REG/EASTERN%20EUROPE%20AND%20CENTRAL%20ASIA%20(ECA)/04-Azerbaijan%20Benchmarking%20Reports/Azerbaijan%20Benchmarking%20Report%202006.pdf Continue Reading »



Monday, April 21, 2008

PAPER WRAP-UP: Performance and Transparency: A Survey of Microfinance in South Asia, Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX)

Authored and published by staff members of the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), initiated and funded by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and The World Bank, released January 2006, 100 pages, available at http://microfinancegateway.com/files/31049_file_MIX_South_Asia_Performance_and_Transparency_2_.pdf Continue Reading »



Friday, April 11, 2008

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Online Tool for Microfinance Institution (MFI) Financial Reporting Launched

An online product for the creation of financial statements by microfinance institutions (MFIs) has been launched by Sheer Intelligence, an American technology consulting and software firm.  The tool should help address concerns of transparency and consistency of reporting by MFIs, as corporate governance is oft-cited as a risk by industry observers.

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