A new report by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and JP Morgan shows that despite the global financial crisis, microfinance institution (MFI) equity valuations continued to rise across all regions during 2009. Continue Reading »

Sarona Asset Management Inc (Sarona), a Canadian asset manager with over USD 200 million of assets under management in developing countries around the world, has successfully completed the closing of its Sarona Frontier Markets Fund I LP, raising USD 12 million in investor commitments in the initial three-month fundraising window. Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a policy and research center; Deutsche Bank, a European commercial bank with a microfinance program; Grameen-Jameel, a company that provides support to microfinance institutions (MFIs); and the Islamic Development Bank, an international finance institution, recently announced the Islamic Microfinance Challenge, a contest intended to promote the innovative design of Shariah-compliant products for Islamic microfinance clients. Continue Reading »

XBRL International has published a case study from the nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) outlining MIX’s efforts to implement and develop an XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) taxonomy for microfinance. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released its third annual ranking of microfinance institutions (MFIs), The Mix Global 100. Continue Reading »

India’s Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of 31 of India’s largest microfinance companies, recently said its members will provide borrowers’ names, addresses and loan details to a credit bureau they have created, Alpha Micro Finance Consultants P Ltd (Alpha), in an effort to prevent client overindebtedness and maximize repayment. Continue Reading »

Paul DiLeo, Managing Partner at Grassroots Capital, plays a role in attracting private capital to the company, creating investment vehicles to address market gaps and raising funding to support new initiatives.  Mr. DiLeo launched and now co-manages the Global Microfinance Equity Fund and the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, which is a private, for-profit microfinance fund originally established to demonstrate the viability of microfinance investment.  He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts (US), has a master’s degree from Boston University (US) and completed studies in business accounting and finance at New York University (US). Continue Reading »

Craig Churchill serves as the Chair of the Microinsurance Network and as Senior Technical Officer of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Social Finance Programme. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, is expected to file for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next three to four weeks, according to three sources that news provider, Reuters, does not name. Continue Reading »

According to a study by PlaNIS, a PlaNet Finance entity that advises microfinance investment funds, European funds dedicated to microfinance have increased their assets by 16 percent in 2009. Continue Reading »

The French microlending site, Babyloan, has facilitated EUR 592,000 (USD 807,200) in microloans to finance 2,150 projects since its launch in 2008. Continue Reading »

A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business information arm of The Economist Group, the producer of The Economist weekly magazine, has ranked the Philippines as first in the world in terms of its microfinance regulatory framework and third in the world in terms of its microfinance business environment, following Peru and Bolivia. Continue Reading »

In an attempt to increase transparency for microfinance stakeholders, the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) has developed two benchmarking software applications, Pakistan Microfinance Review (PMR) software and Microfinance Connect. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has granted a license to Credit Reference Bureau Africa (CRBAfrica) in an effort to provide the banking sector with credit information sharing services. Continue Reading »

Mr. Crawford is Chief Executive Officer of MicroVest Capital Management, responsible for the development, management and growth of MicroVest, including developing and implementing business development strategies and supervising investment deals. He led the launch of MicroVest I, LP, a commercial private equity vehicle focused on microfinance in North America. He has over 20 years of experience with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and capital markets and has worked in Latin America, Africa and Asia. 

Previously, Mr. Crawford worked for the Latin American Financial Markets Division at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), created and ran Seed Capital Development Fund and was the Assistant Project Director for Africa Venture Capital Project. Mr. Crawford received his bank training at Chase Manhattan Bank in the mid 1980’s after working in Africa for the Red Cross and the US State Department. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) (US) in 1983 and Bates College (US) in 1980. Continue Reading »

Financiera Independencia, a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Mexico, has announced that on February 24, 2010, its Board of Directors authorized the MFI to submit a request to receive a banking license, thus allowing it to offer a wider range of products and services as well as to receive funding from retail deposits. Continue Reading »

According to a recent AngolaPress article, 262 youths in the southern Angola province of Cuene received microloans in 2009 from the “Angola Youth” microcredit program. Continue Reading »

Women’s World Banking (WWB), an organization that provides technical and advisory services to its global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), has appointed Kathryn C. Mayer as the Director of the Center for Microfinance Leadership (CML), a WWB organization that provides workshops, coaching and support to chief executive officers (CEOs) and senior managers in the microfinance industry. Continue Reading »