Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) has recently launched in Pakistan with the aim to provide a common platform for Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. Headquartered in Lahore, the network is also looking to establish regional offices in Ghana, Mauritius and the Middle East. Continue Reading »

The number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the nation of Georgia grew from 38 to 47 in 2010, an increase of 24 percent, according to the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Microfinance is popular in Georgia reportedly because small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to meet the cash flow requirements imposed by commercial banks. Despite this, risk in the sector is reportedly low: the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Georgia, an arm of the US-based MFI network FINCA International, reports a current delinquent loan rate of 0.3 percent. Continue Reading »

Skoch Consultancy Services Private Limited, a strategic planning and management consulting firm based in India, has presented Indian Bank, a bank owned by the government of India, with the Skoch Financial Inclusion Award 2011 for its work serving self-help groups (SHGs) in urban areas. Continue Reading »

The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a project that was launched in 1997 by US-based nonprofit advocacy group RESULTS Educational Fund (REF), today released a report indicating that between 1990 and 2008 approximately 10 million Bangladeshis rose above the international poverty line of USD 1.25 a day. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank Group, a multilateral development finance organization based in Washington DC, will make an INR 1.6 billion (USD 35.1 million) equity investment in Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kolkata, India, to expand its operations in the country. The deal is reportedly the largest equity investment in an Indian MFI since the turmoil in the microfinance industry in Andhra Pradesh began in late 2010. Continue Reading »

Since the state government of Andhra Pradesh implemented a law in October 2010 that requires microfinance institutions (MFIs) to get approval from district officials before disbursing loans, it now reportedly takes approximately two months to process loans. Continue Reading »

Since the onset of the debt crisis in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh during the last quarter of 2010, in which borrowers stopped making payments on their loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance has come under intense scrutiny. Continue Reading »

Old Mutual South Africa (OMSA), a financial services outfit based in Cape Town, in partnership with Shoprite, a local retailer based in Western Cape, recently launched a “Pay-When-You-Can” funeral insurance plan aimed at low-income individuals who cannot commit to making regular monthly payments. Continue Reading »

Carlos Danel, an executive vice president and co-founder of Mexican microfinance bank Compartamos Banco, recently said that the bank is looking to expand into other countries that have similar markets to Mexico, particularly other Latin American countries. Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center that is housed at the World Bank Group, recently drafted a technical guide entitled “Advancing Savings Services: Resource Guide for Funders” that is intended to help donors and investors understand savings mobilization as it relates to microfinance. Continue Reading »

MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization launched in July 2008 that aims to provide information on credit products and pricing, the Association of Micro Finance Institutions in Togo (APIM-Togo), the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Benin (FNM) and the Association of Decentralized Financial Systems of Benin (Consortium ALAFIA) are partnering to expand MFTransparency’s Transparent Pricing Initiative to Togo and Benin with the aim of providing training on interest rate calculations, publishing online pricing information and promoting consumer protection. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya’s central banking authority, has granted a license to start-up microfinance institution (MFI) Remu DTM Limited (Remu). The Microfinance Act of 2008 allows the CBK to license, regulate and supervise DTMs—institutions that provide loans to micro- or small enterprises and low-income households, and that receive money by way of deposits. Previously, MFIs could issue loans but were not allowed to take money from the public. Continue Reading »

By Glenn D Westley and Xavier Martin Palomas, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) as Occasional Paper 18, September 2010, 23 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.47356/ Continue Reading »

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (AID), has announced the award of its “First to Market” prize of USD 2.5 million to Jamaica-based mobile operator Digicel and its Canadian partner bank ScotiaBank as part of the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI), a competition created by the US-funded Haiti Integrated Finance for Value Chains and Enterprises (HIFIVE) in June 2010 to encourage partnerships between mobile operators and banks to launch mobile money programs. Continue Reading »

The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that certifies whether investment vehicles actually invest in the microfinance sector, has released a study analyzing 2009 and early-2010 trends in the microfinance industry as well as the performance of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) that were carrying the LuxFLAG certification label during the period covered in the study. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) in India, has announced a universal cut in “effective” interest rates charged to microfinance borrowers from 26.7 percent to 24.6 percent. Continue Reading »

By Koen Rossel-Cambier, published by Centre Emile Bernheim and Solvay Brussels School, December 2010, 41 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.49256/ Continue Reading »

By Benjamin Feigenberg, Erica Field and Rohini Pande,; Harvard Kennedy School Working Paper no. RWP10- 019; available at: http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4449105/Feigenberg_BuildingSocial.pdf?sequence=1

Social capital, defined as “features of social organization, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions”, is built up as a result of repeated interpersonal interactions. Continue Reading »