The Nepalese government is instituting a microinsurance fund that will “reinsure” products sold by insurers to “divert risk created by settlement of insurance claims” [1]. Continue Reading »

By Kelly Bird, Kelly Hattel, Eiichi Sasaki and Luxmon Attapich; Published by the Asian Development Bank; November 2011; 23 pages; available at http://beta.adb.org/sites/default/files/poverty-income-inequality-microfinance-thailand.pdf Continue Reading »

Vittana, a US-based nonprofit that raises funding for microloans for higher education in developing countries, has received a USD 250,000 grant from US-based internet and software company Google to expand its work over the course of two years [1]. Continue Reading »

A recent article in British weekly news magazine The Economist featured village savings and loan associations (VSLA), describing them as the “hottest trend in microfinance.” Continue Reading »

Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, an Italian foundation, and the European Microfinance Network (EMN) have announced the fourth edition of the Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Award, which aims to increase the understanding of microfinance and promote the sharing of good practices among industry players in Europe. Continue Reading »

By Jessica Schicks and Richard Rosenberg, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), September 2011, 44 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.55377/ Continue Reading »

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently released a report on “Over-Indebtedness of Microborrowers in Ghana,” which explores the gap between providers’ and clients’ perceptions of indebtedness [1]. Continue Reading »

The Myanmar government is setting up microcredit schemes in the townships of Pale, Yinmabin, Salingyi and Kani with the aim of providing capital to rural people. Continue Reading »

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Filipino central bank, reportedly has announced that microfinance borrowing in the country has increased from PHP 6.5 billion (USD 151.7 million) in 2010 to PHP 7.3 billion (USD 170.3 million) as of November 2011. This includes data from 202 microfinance institutions in the country, mostly based in and around the Manila metropolitan area.The total number of borrowers at these institutions has increased from 932,622 in 2010 to 979,353.  Continue Reading »

The Co-operative Bank, a unit of UK-based consumer cooperative The Co-operative Group, has launched an initiative named Global Development Co-operative (GDC) to provide finance to cooperatives in developing countries [1]. Continue Reading »

Mr Fernando Alvarez Toca, chief executive officer of the Mexican microfinance bank Compartamos Banco, reportedly has said that the bank is seeking to venture into “alternative products” such as microinsurance and mobile banking during 2012 either “through acquisitions in different countries or through organic growth” [1]. Continue Reading »

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a Thailand-based network of policymakers that works towards increasing access to financial services for poor people, concluded its Global Policy Forum in Mexico recently with representatives of central banks and financial regulators from developing countries signing the Maya Declaration on Financial Inclusion [1]. Continue Reading »

The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), has recently published the “European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision” that provides guidelines and standards to microcredit stakeholders in the EU to support the sector in “facing the challenges of accessing long-term finance, maintaining and raising the quality of services and moving towards sustainability” [1] [2]. Continue Reading »

Digicel Pacific Limited, a unit of Jamaica-based mobile phone network operator Digicel Group Limited, recently launched an international remittance service called Digicel Mobile Money to allow people living in New Zealand to send money to any Digicel mobile phone in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa [1]. Continue Reading »

A recent document published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, introduces a standalone category for “non-banking financial company—microfinance institutions” (NBFC-MFIs) as was proposed by the Malegam Committee, an RBI-appointed panel headed by RBI board member YH Malegam. Continue Reading »

A new report from Standard Bank of South Africa reveals that many financial services remain unavailable to the majority of the people that live in Africa. Continue Reading »

As borrowers in Nepal reportedly have begun receiving loans from multiple microfinance institutions (MFIs), MFIs in the country have requested that a credit information bureau be created to allow them to share information on potential clients to avoid duplicative lending. Continue Reading »

Three Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), Spandana Sphoorty Financial, Share Microfin and Asmitha Microfin, have reportedly cancelled a potential merger on which MicroCapital had reported in August. Continue Reading »