The products and services of most West African insurance companies target corporate clients and those individuals that are not living in poverty.  The infrastructure of most insurance companies is not equipped to provide insurance to the poor.  Microinsurance premiums are low, administrative costs are high, and traditional distribution channels are not always effective.  Also, because premiums are low, microinsurance is a long term investment from the insurance company’s perspective as opposed to traditional insurance companies which collect larger premiums.  All of these factors combined, reports Business Day, a Nigerian business news source, result in scarce microinsurance offerings to West Africa’s poor populations.  Continue Reading »

On November 20, CashNetUSA, a Chicago-based short-term online lender, announced that it will begin receiving its non-traditional credit data from the DataX Credit Reporting Agency (DataX), a Las Vegas-based data collection agency for the financial sector. DataX will collect and provide credit information to CashNetUSA on clients seeking micro-loans and other financial services. Although Microcapital typically covers only those newsworthy developments with an international scope, this new relationship between two American firms has been reported because of its potential spillover effects for international microfinance. Continue Reading »

Source: Emirates Business 24|7.

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Source: MarketWatch.
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‘In God We Trust’: A Qualitative Study of Church-Sponsored Microfinance at the Margins in Nicaragua
by Michael J. Pisani

A qualitative study of CARITAS Matagalpa was undertaken in May 2003. CARITAS Matagalpa is a large, self-sustaining microfinance institution that is located in central Nicaragua and affiliated with Catholic Relief Services. In-depth interviews with 36 microentrepreneurs, all clients of CARITAS Matagalpa, reveal that access to microfinance has enabled these entrepreneurs to start, expand, and develop their enterprises. These interviews also reveal that access to microfinance has also enhanced the life chances of the microentrepreneurs’ households. Additionally, multivariate statistical tests suggest the following: (1) Loan size is directly related to urban location and length of repayment period. (2) The degree of firm-level informality diminishes in urban areas and increases relative to the work experience of the microentrepreneur. (3) Income for self-employed microentrepreneurs is influenced by business sales volume, work experience, number of employees, and loan size.  Continue Reading »

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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will provide up to COP 4 billion, approximately USD 2.1 million, to Colombia’s Corporacion Mundial de la Mujer de Medellin (WWB-Medellin) in order to support the bank’s expansion.  This financing follows another loan of up to USD 2.1 million that IFC committed earlier this year to WWB Medellin. Continue Reading »

An agreement was signed between the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Informal Sector Fund, HFC Bank Ghana Limited, and Boafo Microfinance Services Limited to encourage the administration of credit to informal sector entrepreneurs who are contributors of SSNIT. Each of the collaborators will play an active role in the agreement, the purpose of which is to strengthen the economic security of people in the informal sectors, through the growth of businesses and occupational pension funds, in order to assist in the guarantee of economically stable households. The agreement has been conveyed by Director of the SSNIT informal sector fund, Dr. Francis Sapara-Grant, as an indication of “the need to harness the efforts of complementary institutions in the promotion of the welfare of the elderly and the eradication of destitution from the country” and a demonstration “that the business of providing social protection to the Ghanaian worker has assumed a different dimension through this creative and innovative approach”. Continue Reading »

Fast Company Magazine named Mercy Corps as one of its 2009 Social Enterprises of the Year, recognizing the work it has done this past year as one of the “bold and timely ideas that wow us”. Mercy Corps is praised as “the bank of banks” for buying a struggling Balinese bank and reopening it as an organization that would “cut the costs and inefficiencies” of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and provide them capital, financial tools and tech platforms. Mercy Corps had also previously been recognized as one of the 45 Social Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World as a part of Fast Company’s 2008 Social Capitalist Awards. ACCION International, another organization involved in microfinance, was honoured with this recognition for the fifth year in a row. The other organizations that were honoured as 2009 Social Enterprises of the Year include Do Something, The Academy for Urban School Leadership, DataDyne, Civic Ventures, The Institute for OneWorld Health, The Acumen Fund, Husk Power Systems, and Hopelab. Continue Reading »

JANUARY 21 TO JANUARY 23, 2009, PUDUCHERRY, INDIA

Pondicherry University’s Commerce Department will host an “International Conference on Microfinance” with support from various Indian agencies, including the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD). The conference will be held at the Department of Commerce in the School of Management of Pondicherry University in Puducherry, India.  University researchers, banking professionals, and representatives from non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) are welcome to attend.  Continue Reading »

Source: Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA).
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Source: SNS Asset Management.
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DECEMBER 4, 2008, NEW YORK CITY, USA

The New York chapter of Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM-NY), an international organization dedicated to advancing and supporting women in microfinance, will hold the next installment of its Voices from the Field series: “Microfinance in Israel: Supporting Bedouin Women.”  Chagit Rubinstein will speak about her experiences with two key players in Israeli microfinance—Koret Israel Economic Development Funds (KIEDF) and SAWA microfinance institution—from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Microsoft Center located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6^th Floor, Studio 54.  Ms. Rubinstein will discuss how and why SAWA has enabled Bedouin women to become micro-entrepreneurs, KIEDF’s challenges in Israel, and the future prospects for Israeli microfinance. Continue Reading »

MicroCred, an investment company that creates companies and banks specialized in microfinance, approved a capital increase which includes investments from a new shareholder, Developing World Markets (DWM) and a founding shareholder, AXA Belgium. DWM will take a 22% stake in the company, while AXA Belgium will increase its shareholding to 25%. MicroCred’s total equity capital stood at USD 23.2 million at the end of November 2008. Continue Reading »

Source: Business Today.

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Source: Live Mint .

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Source: International Labor Organization.
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K-Rep Bank CEO Kimanthi Mutua attributed a recorded loss in profit totalling Sh 209 million (USD 2.6 million) to post-election violence and massive investment in the bank’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The Daily Nation reported that Kenya’s K-Rep Bank reported a loss in profit according to an unaudited financial report ending September 30, 2008. The majority of K-Rep clients are low-income entrepreneurs located in neighbourhoods that were badly affected by the post-election violence. Shareholders have injected an additional Sh 1 billion (USD 12.7 million), which will be used to diversify and create new products to increase the bank’s market share and further develop ICT infrastructure, such as Temenos 24. In September 2007 K-Rep Bank reported profits of Sh146 million (USD 1.86 million). Continue Reading »