Event Name: Annual Family Office and Wealth Management Conference

Event Date: June 10, 2013

Event Location: Tel Aviv, Israel Continue Reading »

The National Commercial Bank (NCB), a government-owned bank in Jamaica, reportedly has launched a pilot operation in partnership with the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), which is also owned by the Jamaican government, in preparation to allow for the disbursal of funds to clients of microfinance institutions (MFIs) through automated banking machines (ABMs). Continue Reading »

Event Name: Tel Aviv Annual Institutional Investment Conference

Event Date: March 13, 2013

Event Location: Tel Aviv, Israel Continue Reading »

By Amulya Krishna Champatiray, Parul Agarwal and Santadarshan Sadhu; published by the Centre for Micro Finance (CMF); 2012; 41 pages; available at: http://www.centre-for-microfinance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Updated_Final_Report_Map_of_Microfinance_Report_CMF_June27.pdf

This report summarizes the findings of an initiative that gathered information on the portfolios, products and business correspondents of 103 microfinance institutions (MFIs) across India. Continue Reading »

The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion (CFI), established in 2008 as a branch of the US-based nonprofit Accion, together with US-based financial service providers Citi and Visa, recently announced the launch of Financial Inclusion 2020 (FI2020), an initiative designed to promote increased financial access for people worldwide. Continue Reading »

Chairman Moses Ihoza of the Uganda Mobile Money Agents Association (UMMAA), which represents 12,000 Ugandan Businesses that allow users of mobile money services to upload and withdraw cash, reportedly said the organization is calling for improvements to network infrastructure to aid the growth of the industry. Continue Reading »

During a recent forum held in the Fijian city of Lautoka, economist Baljeet Singh reportedly called for the public sector to provide technical assistance, training workshops and “low-interest credit” in an effort to develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Continue Reading »

Event Name: The Fourth International Conference on Institutional and Technological Environment for Microfinance, Financial Inclusion: Lessons Between the South and the North

Event Location: Paris, France

Event Date: April 11-12, 2013 Continue Reading »

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the issuer of government identity cards in Pakistan, reportedly has designated the government-owned State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan as the low bidder in a procurement process through which NADRA will fund accidental death insurance for all Pakistani citizens. Continue Reading »

Scotiabank, a Canada-based bank, reportedly expects to increase the number of microloans it extends to consumers and small businesses in Mexico, in amounts ranging from CAD 300 (USD 297) to CAD 3,000 (USD 2,970).
Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s banking authority, reportedly has amended its microfinance guidelines to permit state governments to establish microfinance banks. Continue Reading »

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s central banking authority, reportedly has decided that telecommunications companies will not be allowed to become licensed mobile money operators for fear that they will limit competition within the industry. Continue Reading »

The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), a working group initiated in 2005 by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), the Argidius Foundation and the Ford Foundation, is seeking submissions for its online Universal Standards Resource Library. Continue Reading »

The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), a Bangladeshi government body that oversees the operations of NGO microfinance institutions (MFIs), reportedly has announced plans to cut the maximum interest rate MFIs are allowed to charge to an unspecified level. Continue Reading »

Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), an organization that offers financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects in Africa and Eurasia, recently approved a three-year loan to Azerbaijani MFI FinDev in local currency equivalent to USD 666,000. Continue Reading »

Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based organization that offers financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia, has recently loaned Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida), an Indonesian MFI, the local-currency equivalent of USD 751,000 with a three-year term. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to loan USD 7 million to Kor Standard Bank (KSB), a financial institution in the republic of Georgia, to increase funding for small and medium-sized enterprises. Continue Reading »

According to a report from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central banking authority of the country, bank financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) declined by 4.5 percent from PKR 293 billion (USD 2.99 million) in June 2011 to PKR 248 billion (USD 2.54 billion) in June 2012. Continue Reading »