MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mifos Microfinance Software Update “Vinolia I” Adds Accounting Module, Embedded Reports

The Community for Open Source Microfinance, a US-based nonprofit that has taken over leadership of maintaining the open-source microfinance software package Mifos from the US-based Grameen Foundation, recently announced the release of Mifos 2.4. The software update, named Vinolia I after a borrower from a microcredit provider in Ghana that uses the software, includes 25 embedded reports and a basic accounting module.

Other new features of Mifos 2.4 include transfers among accounts, value-based permissions for loan approvals, real-time integration with M-Pesa mobile money service, backdated loan approvals, pro-rated payments, savings adjustments and updated Progress Out of Poverty Index (PPI) scorecards for a dozen countries. PPI is a tool used to gauge whether clients live above the poverty line for their country.

Screenshots of each major feature are available on http://mifos.org/community/news/mifos-24-vinolia-i-live. The product can be downloaded from http://mifos.org/product/download-mifos.

The microbanks that use Mifos reportedly serve about 850,000 clients as of June 2011.

By Mihaela Grindeanu, Research Associate

About the Community for Open Source Microfinance: The Community for Open Source Microfinance (COSM) is a nonprofit organization established in 2012 in the US city of Seattle, Washington, to manage and develop the Mifos microfinance software package. COSM’s mission is “to scale the growth and impact of microfinance by coordinating a global community that builds, supports, and uses Mifos, a free and open software system to more effectively and efficiently deliver financial services to the poor.” The microbanks that use Mifos reportedly serve about 850,000 clients as of June 2011. Mifos was launched in 2006 by the US-based Grameen Foundation.

About the Grameen Foundation: The Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, aims to help microfinance institutions throughout the world replicate the joint-liability model of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The Grameen Foundation provides financial, technological and managerial support to provide new business opportunities and telecommunication services for poor people in rural areas. Though it is independent of the Grameen Bank, Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, serves on the foundation’s Board of Directors. Grameen Foundation reported total investments of USD 19.0 million and total assets of USD 27.3 million as of March 31, 2011.

Sources and Additional Resources:

Data provided to MicroCapital.org by the Community for Open Source Microfinance

MicroCapital.org story, March 23, 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mifos Microfinance Software Update, “Margaret H,” adds Lao, Georgian, Mobile Interface, Spreadsheet Capability, Cloud Functionality”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mifos-microfinance-software-update-margaret-h-adds-lao-georgian-mobile-interface-spreadsheet-capability-cloud-functionality/

MicroCapital.org story, March 5, 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Spins Off Mifos Microfinance Institution Software to Open Source Community”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-foundation-spins-off-mifos-microfinance-institution-software-to-open-source-community/

MicroCapital Universe profile: Community for Open Source Microfinance, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Community+for+Open+Source+Microfinance+%28COSM%29

MicroCapital Universe profile: Grameen Foundation, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Grameen+Foundation

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

 

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