by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Microfinance USA 2010, Hosted Live and by Webcast by Opportunity Fund, Kiva and US ACCION Network on May 20-21, 2010, San Francisco, CA, USA

Event Name: Microfinance USA 2010

Event Date: May 20 to May 21, 2010

Event Location:

Thursday, May 20th at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St, San Francisco, California, USA
Friday, May 21st at The Westin San Francisco Market St, 50 Third St, San Francisco, California, USA

For those unable to attend, the event will be webcast live at http://www.microfinanceusa2010.org/webcast/

Event Website: http://www.microfinanceusa2010.org/

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Projects Impact Investments to Reach $500b by 2014

The nonprofit Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) recently projected that impact investments, defined as investments that “aim to solve social or environmental challenges while generating financial profit,” will grow to USD 500 billion by 2014, totaling roughly 1 percent of all managed assets.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Poised to Invest $30m to $37m in Microinsurance Projects in India

In a recent interview with the Indian online news platform VCCircle, Mr Jim Roth, Principal at LeapFrog Investments, a private equity microinsurance fund, said that of the fund’s USD 110 million in capital, it would commit USD 30 to 37 million to microinsurance products in India.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: “Youth Savings Accounts: The Youth Development and Financial Inclusion Nexus?” Hosted Live and via Webcast by the YouthSave Consortium and the MasterCard Foundation on May 6, 2010, Washington, DC, USA

Event Name: “Youth Savings Accounts: The Youth Development and Financial Inclusion Nexus?”

Event Date: May 6, 2010

Event Location: New America Foundation
1899 L Street NW Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036 USA

For those unable to attend, the event will be webcast live at http://www.newamerica.net/events/2010/youth_savings_accounts

Event Website: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2010/youth_savings_accounts

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New York Times Article Addresses High Interest Rates and Mission Drift Among Microfinance Providers

A recent article featured in the New York Times newspaper entitled, “Banks Making Big Profits From Tiny Loans,” argues there is a growing mission drift among microfinance providers and discusses the efficacy of microloans and the need for more transparency in the industry.

by Christine Chang -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: All Eyes on Asset Quality: Microfinance Global Valuation Survey 2010 Published by CGAP, Written by Xavier Reille, Christoph Kneiding, Daniel Rozas, Nick O’Donohoe and Frederic Rozeira de Mariz

Written by Xavier Reille, Christoph Kneiding, Daniel Rozas, Nick O’Donohoe and Frederic Rozeira de Mariz, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), March 2010, 40 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.42531/OP16R.pdf

The authors of the paper aim to provide the investor community with benchmarks for the valuation of microfinance assets using two datasets, one being a sample of 200 private equity transactions between 2005 and 2009, the other being data on eight publicly listed low-income financial institutions (LIFIs).

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group Database of Remittance Prices Worldwide Finds Average Cost for Sending $200 is Down to 8.72 Percent

The World Bank Group, a group of five organizations with a mission to improve living standards for people in the developing world, has published the fourth iteration of its Remittance Prices Worldwide database.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation and Kashf Microfinance Bank, Two Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Pakistan, Agree to Set Up Savings Kiosks at Kashf Foundation Branches

Kashf Foundation, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan, and Kashf Microfinance Bank, a full-service microfinance bank founded by the Kashf Foundation in 2008, have signed an agreement to begin setting up savings kiosks at Kashf Foundation branches.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Latin American Forum: Carrying out Social Management in Microfinance: “Turning Mission into Practice,” Hosted by the Central America Regional Forum (REDCAMIF) on April 28 to 29, 2010

Event Name: Latin American Forum: Carrying out Social Management in Microfinance: “Turning Mission into Practice”

Event Date: April 28 to April 29, 2010

Event Location: Hotel Holiday Inn Managua, Nicaragua

Event Website: http://www.redcamif.org/eventos/vista-evento/i-foro-latinoamericano-gestion-de-desemepeno-social-llevando-la-mision-a-la-practica/event/20100428/?cHash=b7672c36f4

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Insights Releases Report, “Is Information and Communication Technology Fueling the Growth of Microfinance?”

Microfinance Insights, a publication produced by the social-sector advisory firm Intellecap, recently released a survey report titled, “Is Information and Communication Technology Fueling the Growth of Microfinance?”

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) Launches Website Addressing Access to Finance, Regional Financial Integration and Remittances

The Partnership for Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A), an initiative that aims to coordinate financial sector development between African governments, the private sector and development organizations, recently launched a website, www.mfw4a.org.

by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of Fiji Announces Progress Made on Establishing Microfinance Units within Commercial Banks

The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has announced that a program to create microfinance units within commercial banks is progressing smoothly and that the program should be fully operational by the end of the year.

by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based International Development Non-profit Organization CHF International Sets Up CHF Finance Group to House Its Commercial Microfinance Institution Subsidiaries

CHF International, a US-based international development and humanitarian assistance non-profit organization, has set up a private holding company, CHF Finance Group, to house its commercial microfinance institution (MFI) subsidiaries.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Investing into Microfinance Investment Funds, by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská

Written by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská, published by the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University in Prague, 2009, 35 pages, available at:

http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.41460/Investing%20into%20Microfinance%20Investment%20Funds.pdf

This paper aims to measure the performance of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) in terms of risk and returns to investors.

by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippine Microfinance Industry Reaches $200m and Reflects on Challenges for the Future

At a recent event gathering a number of Filipino public and private agencies from both the entrepreneurial and academic sector it came to light that the microfinance industry in the Philippines has grown into a PHP 12 billion (USD 200 million) industry.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Licenses Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) as Deposit Taking Microfinance Institution (MFI)

The Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), a microfinance institution (MFI) that currently provides credit to over 334,000 women clients, has been granted a license to accept deposits.

by Matthew Castner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Calls Out Loan Shark Organizations

In an interview with Vikash Humar, Editor in Chief of Microfinance Focus, Mohammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, blasted profit-seeking microfinance institutions (MFIs). He likened these institutions, which he defined as those who charge more than 15 percent plus the cost of funds, to the loan sharks that necessitated the foundation Grameen. While reluctant to name names, Mr Yunus offered Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank founded in 1990, as an example of one of these firms. Mr Yunus additionally spoke out against IPOs by MFIs, such as Compartamos Banco and SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI), launched in 1998, which caters to women clients in India.