Event Name: 5th Asian Conference on Microinsurance

Event Date: July 11 – July 12, 2011

Event Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Continue Reading »

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 »

Madrid Autonomus University, in collaboration with two other Spanish institutions, the Foro Nantik Lum de MicroFinanzas, a microfinance think tank, and the Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, has recently announced the launch of a degree program titled “Masters in Microcredit for Development” The program, which is scheduled to extend from October 2011 until June 2012, aims to provide instruction and training in microfinance as distributed via the following channels: banks, credit unions, NGOs and international development agencies. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), an instrument of the Afghan government, recently announced that the microfinance sector in Afghanistan has disbursed a total of approximately USD 1 billion to low-income Afghan households since 2003. Continue Reading »

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) recently released the “2010 Sub-Saharan Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report,” which covers information on 181 microfinance institutions (MFIs) that operate in 41 countries. Continue Reading »

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

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, has convened a “National Microfinance Stakeholders Summit” bringing together approximately 300 microfinance industry players including policymakers, regulators, microfinance institution representatives, donors and investors with the purpose of encouraging a greater commitment to microfinance and financial inclusion [1]. Continue Reading »

In an effort to mitigate the problems of overlapping loans disbursed by microfinance institutions (MFIs) and commercial banks in Cambodia, the National Bank of Cambodia, the country’s central bank, has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, on plans to launch a national credit bureau before the end of 2011. Continue Reading »

The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Ignacio Mas of the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that examines the role that mobile phones can play in facilitating broader financial inclusion by delivering savings, payment and budgeting services. 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 »

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution that operates in Latin America and the Caribbean; Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an autonomous fund administered by IDB; Andean Development Corporation (CAF, in Spanish), a multilateral financial institution based in Venezuela; and Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), an organization representing approximately 750 cell phone operators, have issued a call for proposals as part of the launch of the second Technologies for Financial Inclusion Program [1]. Continue Reading »

Enterprise Development and Microfinance (EDM), a journal published by UK-based NGO Practical Action, has issued a call for articles for its December 2011 issue, “Investing in Microfinance Institutions”, which is slated to “explore key issues in microfinance investing” [1]. 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 »

Goodwell West Africa, a branch of Goodwell Investments of the Netherlands, has invested an undisclosed amount in Paga’s mobile money service with approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution, reported a decline of 36 percent in total income to INR 193.8 crores (USD 42.7 million) and a net loss of INR 69.8 crores (USD 15.4 million) for the first three months of 2011, as compared with a net profit of INR 62.9 crores (USD 14 million) in the same quarter last year. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Afghanistan has issued an electronic money institution (EMI) license to M-Paisa, a mobile technology platform that provides financial services targeted at those without access to banking. Continue Reading »