Fairkampaign, an initiative of Dutch nonprofit International Legal Alliances Microjustice for All, has announced a call for comments on the contents of a “fair microfinance loan agreement.” Continue Reading »

Freedom from Hunger, a US-based nonprofit, recently announced that Mr Steve Hollingworth will be the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the organization after the retirement of Mr Chris Dunford who has held the position for approximately 20 years [1]. Continue Reading »

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently announced it will lend USD 4.9 million to US-based Root Capital, provides capital, financial education and market connections to small and growing businesses in Latin America and Africa [1]. Continue Reading »

In a recent press release, Microfinance Investment Services (MICROFIS), a France-based market platform for investors in “responsible finance,” reports that the Paris Commercial Court has dismissed a petition against MICROFIS that was filed jointly by two France-based organizations: PlaNet Finance, a nonprofit that works to alleviate poverty through microfinance, and social investment advisory firm PlaNIS responsAbility SAS, which is held by PlaNet Finance, Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG and Natixis Asset Management of France [1][2]. Continue Reading »

BlueOrchard, a commercial microfinance investment company based in Switzerland, has released its annual social performance report for 2011, which presents the social impact of its investments in approximately 75 microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business information arm of The Economist Group, has published the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2011. Continue Reading »

Published by the Microfinance Information Exchange & Planet Rating, MicroBanking Bulletin, September 2011, 10 pages, available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/MBB-%20microfinance%20and%20the%20role%20of%20policies%20and%20procedures%20in%20saturated%20markets_1.pdf Continue Reading »

The Center for Financial and Credit Counseling (CFKS), a nonprofit established in 2010 in the Bosnian city of Tuzla, has been set up to counter the negative impact of over-indebtedness through financial education, counseling, mediation and debt resolution. Continue Reading »

Trickle Up, US-based nonprofit that aims to alleviate poverty in poor countries, recently released a study “And Who Listens to the Poor?’ Shocks, Stresses and Safety Nets in India and Pakistan” by Karishma Huda, Sandeep Kaur and Nicolina Lamhauge, documenting the cases of 20 women participants in its 2009 Trickle Up Ultra Poor Pilot Program [1]. Continue Reading »

Three providers of institutional, performance and social ratings of microfinance institutions (MFIs), MicroFinanza Rating of Italy, US-based MicroRate and French Planet Rating, recently signed the Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct. Continue Reading »

SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently was directed by the Supreme Court of India, the country’s apex court, to plead its case against the enforcement of the Regulation of Microlending Act of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), in front of the AP High Court, the state’s apex court. Continue Reading »

The government of Botswana has announced that it will cease acting as an intermediary between microfinance institutions (MFIs) and civil servants for the collection of microloans through the provision of “deduction-at-source” from public servants’ wages [1]. Continue Reading »

In an article recently published on the website of the US-based Financial Access Initiative, Brussels-based microfinance consultant Daniel Rozas examines multiple borrowing and proposes several ways address the issue. Continue Reading »

Chase Bank, a US-based commercial bank, is reportedly looking beyond the business model of “corporate giants” in Kenya by creating a deposit-taking microfinance institution (DTM) subsidiary, Rafiki Deposit Taking Microfinance Kenya Limited, to attract clients who have “outgrown” traditional microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1]. Continue Reading »

Event Name: African Microfinance Pricing Transparency Leadership Forum

Event Date: October 5 – October 7, 2011

Event Location: Nairobi, Kenya Continue Reading »

At the recently concluded Fifth African Microcredit Conference, which was held in Ethiopia, a focus note reportedly commended the Moroccan microcredit sector, remarking that from 2003 to 2007 microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) loan portfolio “multiplied 11 times and client outreach by four” in the country [1]. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s central banking authority, has approved the new capital base requirements for microfinance banks (MFBs) as per the expectations reported in the MicroCapital story dated June 28. Continue Reading »

In a recent paper, “List Randomization for Sensitive Behavior: An Application for Measuring Use of Loan Proceeds,” researchers Dean Karlan and Jonathan Zinman put forth data indicating that enterprise microloan borrowers tend to underreport the percentage of the loan, if any,  that they use for non-business purposes such as household expenses [1] [2]. Continue Reading »