By Mayada El-Zoghbi and Meritxell Martinez; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); May 2011; 4 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.50966/MeasuringBenefits_Brief.pdf Continue Reading »

Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency and member of the France-based PlaNet Finance Group, has been recognized by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, as a microfinance institution (MFI) rating agency. This recognition follows the company’s establishment of a regional office in Manila in 2009. Continue Reading »

Published by Legatum Ventures; May 2011; 11 pages; available at http://www.legatum.org/attachments/MicrofinanceCrisis.pdf Continue Reading »

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, has indicated that banks must perform additional due diligence when lending to microfinance institutions (MFIs) following RBI’s enactment of microfinance guidelines that capped interest rates for end-borrowers at 26 percent and interest rate margins for MFIs at 12 percent. Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently released its “Social Performance Report 2011,” which is the sixth of its kind, covering the effect on poor people of its work during 2010 in the following areas: microfinance, fair trade, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing and independent media. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Central Asian Microfinance Fair 2011

Event Date: July 7 – July 8, 2011 Continue Reading »

responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it loaned the equivalent of USD 3.9 million to microfinance organizations Financiera Confianza and Cooperativa Agropecuaria Limitada Naranjillo of Peru. Continue Reading »

The Microinsurance Network, which was initially established as the CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Working Group on Microinsurance in 2002, recently launched its “Stocktaking Initiative: Ongoing Impact Assessments on Microinsurance” website. An initiative of the network’s Impact Working Group, the Stocktaking Initiative aims to serve as an information clearinghouse on impact assessments of microinsurance around the world. Continue Reading »

A recent article on the CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), examines the outcome of a discussion on information initiatives in strengthening the microfinance industry that was recently held by CGAP and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit. At the event, which was held in Nepal, representatives of microfinance organizations from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal discussed the following efforts: 1)Annual state of the sector reports such as the Pakistan Microfinance Network’s (PMN’s) Pakistan Microfinance Review, ACCESS Development’s India: A State of the Sector Report, and rating agency M-CRIL’s Microfinance Analytics Report ; 2)Access mapping such as Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan’s (MISFA’s) monthly performance reports, PMN’s Micro WATCH in Pakistan and Sa-Dhan’s Microfinance Map of India; and 3)Interest rate transparency such as the report on India from US-based nonprofit MFTransparency. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Technology Blog, operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Kabir Kumar and Yanina Seltzer that reviews branchless banking in Brazil, whereby agents such as retailers and post offices serve as links between banks and customers. The article is the first of a planned series that examines the state of branchless banking in different countries. Continue Reading »

A recent probe by the government of Bangladesh has cleared Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, of misusing Norwegian aid money. The Norwegian government previously cleared Dr Yunus of any allegations of mishandling funds following the release of a Norwegian documentary in 2010 that accused Dr Yunus of diverting approximately USD 96 million of aid money from Grameen Bank to Grameen Kalyan, a sister company of Grameen Bank that offers affordable health insurance to Grameen members. Continue Reading »

MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides information on credit products and pricing, has published updated pricing data for Cambodia. The updated data builds on the original data published in 2009 as part of its collection of international microloan product pricing data. Continue Reading »

Ignacio Mas, Senior Advisor to the Financial Services for the Poor Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and John Staley, Director of Finance and Shared Services at Equity Bank of Kenya, recently posted an entry on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) blog titled “Are We Serious About Financial Inclusion for All?” [1]. Mr Mas and Mr Staley highlight the importance of increasing access to financial services in developing countries and outline their four suggestions for regulators and financial service providers to advance financial inclusion. Continue Reading »

A new Focus Note from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) examines data from CGAP’s annual surveys on cross-border microfinance funding to provide an overview of the microfinance funding landscape and trends in cross-border funding [1]. Continue Reading »

Swadhaar Finserve Private Limited (SFPL), an Indian microfinance institution, recently received honors for “Appropriate Collections Practices” from the Smart Campaign, an initiative that focuses on client protection in microfinance. According to Smart Campaign Tool Development Specialist Leah Wardle, “SFPL won our Call for Tools because their policies and procedures for collections are a good example of how microfinance institutions (MFIs) can provide staff with clear expectations for dignified treatment of clients during collections processes. From their general code of conduct for collections to their specifics on ethical loan recovery procedures, SFPL’s policies clearly embody elements of our Client Protection Principles.” [1]. Smart Campaign’s Client Protection Principles focus on non-coercive debt collection practices and other aspects of good governance such as avoiding client over-indebtedness, privacy practices and transparent pricing. Continue Reading »

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]. Continue Reading »

Microfinance experts are invited to contribute chapters to a book scheduled for publication in mid-2012: “Microfinance in Developing and Developed Countries: Issues, Policies and Performance Evaluation”. Submissions should cover one or more of the following themes: 1) review of microfinance in developed and developing countries, 2) evaluation of policies and managerial tools designed to support small businesses through microfinance and 3) performance assessment and the role of microfinance rating agencies. Continue Reading »