Accion, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance services in 32 countries, recently announced that it will invest an undisclosed amount of money in Aire, a UK-based startup focused on credit score data analytics.
Category: Transparency
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship; April 13-15, 2016; Oxford, United Kingdom
Event Name: The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship
Event Dates: April 13-15, 2016
Event Location: The University of Oxford’s Said Business School; Oxford, United Kingdom
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Necessary for SMEs to Grow; Microfinance Challenges in the Arab World; Incofin on MFIs’ Social Performance
“ADB Report: Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014;” by S. Shinozaki, T. Chaiken, S. Jain, K. Dorofev, C. T. Delos Santos and J. Bautista; published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); September 2015; 318 pages; available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/173205/asia-sme-finance-monitor2014.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Extends Microinsurance Compliance Deadline to March 31, 2016
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the government agency charged with overseeing the country’s insurance market, recently announced that it has extended the deadline for insurance companies to withdraw non-compliant microinsurance products from their portfolios to March 31, 2016.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: “Mifos Tech Days 2016 – Innovation for Innovators” to Examine Implementation of Open Source Microbanking Information System Mifos, March 8-11, 2016, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Event Name: Mifos Tech Days 2016 – “Innovation for Innovators”
Event Dates: March 8-11, 2016
Event Location: Volkshotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maria Cavalcanti to Serve as New CEO, President of Pro Mujer
Pro Mujer, a US-based nonprofit that provides healthcare, training and financial services to women in Latin America, recently appointed Maria Cavalcanti as its President and CEO.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Sa-Dhan, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Revise Code of Conduct
Sa-Dhan, an India-based association of 214 microlenders and other financial institutions, and the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of 48 Indian microfinance lenders, recently launched a revised code of conduct.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s SKS Microfinance Seeks to Go Paperless with IBM MobileFirst Tablet System
SKS Microfinance Limited, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Hyderabad, India, recently partnered with IBM MobileFirst, the mobile division of US-based information technology company International Business Machines (IBM), in an effort to improve staff productivity in acquiring customers, completing loan disbursements and collecting repayments [1][2].
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016,” Published by the World Bank
“Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016,” published by the World Bank, September 2015, 211 pages, available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/gfdr/report
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Development Program (UNDP); United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Support Bank of Sierra Leone in Launching Mobile Financial Services Guidelines
The Bank of Sierra Leone, the central bank of the country, has partnered with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), a member of the UN that invests knowledge and other resources into developing countries, and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN agency that works to increase access to microfinance and other forms of capital in developing countries, to launch the first mobile financial services guidelines in Sierra Leone [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinMark Trust, Centre for Financial Regulation & Inclusion, The MasterCard Foundation to Create “insight2impact” Data Facility to Assess Banking Needs of Poor People
The FinMark Trust, a nonprofit that promotes financial inclusion and regional financial integration; the Centre for Financial Regulation & Inclusion (CENFRI), a nonprofit affiliated with FinMark Trust; and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard, recently have announced that they will launch a joint data facility named “insight2impact” (i2i).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Egypt Summit, March 23-24, 2016, Cairo, Egypt
Event Name: Microfinance Egypt Summit
Event Dates: March 23-24, 2016
Event Location: The Nile Ritz-Carlton Cairo, Egypt
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank India (RBI) Eases Microfinance Interest Rate Norm to Allow Cheaper Loans to Members of Scheduled Castes (SC) Earning Less than $2.50 Per Day
The Reserve Bank India (RBI), the nation’s central banking authority, has eased the maximum allowance of a variance of 4 percent between minimum and maximum interest rates on loans by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in order to encourage the provision of cheaper loans to those members of Scheduled Castes (SC), historically disadvantaged people in India, who earn less than double the international poverty line defined by the United Nations (UN) as USD 1.25 per day.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Legislation for Client Protection; Consumer Satisfaction in India; Women’s Financial Inclusion Data
“Client Protection Principles: Model Law and Commentary for Financial Consumer Protection;” published by the Microfinance CEO Working Group; April 2015; 66 pages; available at: http://microfinanceceoworkinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CPP-Model-Laws-April-2015.pdf
This publication offers guidelines for creating legislation to protect low-income consumers of financial services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission (EC) Launches EaSI-MicPro, a New Online Information on Microcredit Providers
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), recently launched EaSI-MicPro, a new online platform where microcredit providers can present information about their operations.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Symbiotics 2015 Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIV) Survey Report: Market Data and Peer Group Analysis
“Symbiotics 2015 Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIV) Survey Report: Market Data and Peer Group Analysis;” published by the Symbiotics Group; 2015; 45 pages; available at http://www.syminvest.com/papers/ed4710d3-cd20-4366-ad75-095f2b3adffe
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that is “specialized in emerging, sustainable and inclusive finance,” recently published its ninth annual microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) survey based on indicators reported by MIVs for 2014.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) to Host European Microfinance Week 2015, November 18-20, 2015, Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
Event Name: European Microfinance Week 2015
Event Dates: November 18-20, 2015
Event Location: Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Donates $28k to Vitas for Microfinance Client Protection in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories
The Luxembourg-based Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) recently donated USD 28,000 to Vitas Group, a commercial holding company created by US-based, international nonprofit organization Global Communities, to train the staff of Vitas Group’s microfinance institutions in the Middle East on client protection.