Event Name: Mobile Money Global 2012

Event Date: November 19 – November 22, 2012

Event Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Continue Reading »

Applied Industrial Logic (AIL), UK-based information technology company specializing in serving the insurance market, recently informed MicroCapital that it is currently building OpenQuote 2.0, an open-source software package with features intended to be of particular interest to microinsurance firms including microinsurance-specific policy administration, claims management, reporting and distribution channel support. Continue Reading »

Ujjivan Financial Services, a Bangalore-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently put its lending operations on hold in the districts Vaishali and Muzaffarpur in the Indian state of Bihar after an October attack on its customer relations officer, Achchhe Lal Prasad. Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH (APM), Austrian-based investment and asset management company that offers microfinance institutions (MFIs) financing and investment strategy advisory services, recently disbursed a loan of USD 1 million to KazMicroFinance (KMF), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Kazakhstan, via the Dual Return Fund, a sub-fund of Vision Microfinance created by APM that issues direct loans to MFIs in developing countries. Continue Reading »

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for poor people worldwide, is calling for interested individuals to respond to a short survey designed to clarify the demand for and the supply of capacity building services needed to advance financial inclusion.  Continue Reading »

Share Microfin Limited and Asmitha Microfin Limited, two microfinance institutions (MFIs) based in Hyderabad, India, reportedly have rekindled efforts to execute a merger. Continue Reading »

Vodafone, a UK-based telecommunications company, and Safaricom, a Kenya-based cell phone service provider, reportedly plan to expand its mobile money program M-Pesa by linking it with HomeSend, a Belgian-based service that increases the inter-compatibility of money transfer systems. Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH (APM), an Austrian investment company that specializes in microfinance and asset management, recently disbursed USD 3.2 million in loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina through a microfinance investment vehicle that it manages, the Dual Return-Vision Microfinance Fund. Continue Reading »

The Ministry of Health of Vietnam and Vietnam Social Insurance, a government-funded organization that offers insurance to workers, reportedly will issue health insurance cards free of charge to families living close to or below the poverty line. Continue Reading »

The Global Initiative Microfinance Bank Limited (GIMFB), a Nigerian microfinance bank (MFB), reportedly has released two new products with the aim of minimizing bad debt: GIMFB village banking and GIMFB medal deposit accounts. Continue Reading »

SME Business Support Fund, a nonprofit organisation that assists small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as business development service providers (BDSPs), recently partnered with Kashf Microfinance Bank in an effort to create viable business support models that will encourage self employment in Pakistan. Continue Reading »

The European Microfinance Network (EMN), a France-based NGO whose mission is to promote microfinance, microentrepreneurship and self employment to fight social and economic exclusion, recently announced plans to hold a debate on the topic “Microfinance as a tool of active ageing” on December 14, 2012, in Brussels. Continue Reading »

Equitas Holdings, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Chennai, India, raised INR 500 million (USD 9.26 million) from MicroVentures India and India Financial Inclusion Fund, two funds dedicated to supporting the Indian microfinance industry. Continue Reading »

Grameen Koota, a India-based microfinance division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL), plans to expand into housing microfinance in areas of rural India that have limited microfinance institution (MFI) penetration. Continue Reading »

FinMark Trust, a South African  nonprofit, recently released the FinScope Rwanda report titled “Financial Inclusion in Rwanda 2008-2012″, which indicates a growing demand for loans in rural Rwanda. Continue Reading »

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, recently announced that it will make a USD 4 million equity investment in Vox Capital Impact Investing Fund, a Brazilian venture capital fund targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups that serve the low-income population, also referred to as the base of the pyramid (BoP). Continue Reading »

By Sarah Rotman, David Ferrand, Stephen Rasmussen; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); October 2012; 4 pages; available at:http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/CGAP-Brief-The-Jipange-KuSave-Experiment-in-Kenya-Oct-2012.pdf Continue Reading »

Western Union, a US-based financial services and communications company; ICICI Bank, a commercial bank in India;and Mastercard, a global payments and technology company  recently launched the Western Union- ICICI Bank Prepaid Card in India. Continue Reading »