MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Emida Integrates Cash and Transact(TM) and Debisys Platform, Launches Mobile Wallet Service in Nigeria, Plans to Roll Out to 37 Countries

Emida, a company based in California that specializes in global prepaid and value transfer solutions, recently announced the integration of its Cash and TransactTM (CATTM) Mobile Wallet platform with its Debisys Top-Up platform, which will enable customers to load cash to their phones and make payments to retailers that support Emida systems.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Experts Say “Microcredit Is Not The Enemy”

The Financial Times, a UK-based newspaper, recently published an opinion piece titled “Microcredit is not the enemy,” which examines the recent microfinance trouble in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and some of the misperceptions that have subsequently emerged that deem the industry as “a flawed idea.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCESS Development Services of India Releases “State of the Sector Report 2010” Questioning Role of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) as Responsible Lenders

ACCESS Development Services, a nonprofit offering consulting services to microfinance institutions (MFIs), has released its “State of the Sector Report 2010,” (not yet available online) which questions whether MFIs are responsible lenders, citing “supernormal” profits for Indian MFIs compared to Indian commercial banks.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe Loans $19m to ProCredit Bank SA of Romania for Microfinance

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg in 2005, recently reported to MicroCapital that it made a debt investment of USD 19 million in ProCredit Bank SA of Romania, a bank catering to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises that is part of the ProCredit Holding Group, which consists of twenty-one member banks that operate in developing countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Local Government in Indian State of Andhra Pradesh Considers Additional Microfinance Regulation, Requires Disclosure of Operational Procedures

The government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where the microfinance industry has been described as experiencing a crisis, is reportedly considering new legislation to refine an ordinance that was passed in October 2010 in response to a series of suicides said to be linked to debt collector harassment.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank Invests in Microfinance through $10m Equity Placement in Shorecap II Fund

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), an international development organization based in Manila, Philippines, announced that it will be making an equity investment of up to USD 10 million in Shorecap II Fund (SCII), the successor to Shorecap International (SCI), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) established in 2003.

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) Sustainable and Responsible Investments Conference, Luxembourg, February 17, 2011

Event Name: Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) Sustainable and Responsible Investments Conference

Event Date: February 17, 2011

Event Location: Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AlHuda CIBE, NAYMET Sign MoU to Develop Islamic Microfinance Products in Pakistan

AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE), an organization that promotes Islamic banking and finance through research and advisory services, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Naziran Yousaf Memorial Trust (NAYMET) Islamic Microfinance, a Pakistani nonprofit organization, to develop NAYMET’s Islamic microfinance products.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to Prosecute Managing Directors of Failed Microfinance Banks

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), an independent agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria which guarantees deposits to financial institutions, has reportedly begun compiling a list of some of the managers of the failed microfinance banks – whose licenses were recently withdrawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) – with the aim of prosecuting them.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) and ProCredit Bank Moldova Sign $7m Synthetic, Local-Currency Loan for On-Lending to Microenterprises

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) advised by Finance in Motion and managed by Oppenheim Asset Management Services, has provided ProCredit Bank, the Moldovan operation of ProCredit Holding, with a long-term, synthetic loan in Moldovan leu (MDL) equivalent to USD 7 million for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Launch YouthStart to Expand Financial Services for Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa

The MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that seeks to alleviate poverty through microfinance and education, and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the investment agency of the UN, recently announced that they have partnered to launch YouthStart, a competition-based program aimed at increasing access to financial services for low-income youth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Winner of Nobel Peace Prize for Work in Microfinance, Cleared of Allegations of Illegal Money Transfer to Grameen Kalyan

Grameen Bank founder and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Dr Muhammad Yunus, who had been accused of ‘siphoning’ approximately USD 100 million from Grameen Bank to its affiliated health insurer Grameen Kalyan, has reportedly been cleared of any allegations of mishandling funds by the Norwegian Ministry of Affairs.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Makes Debt Investments Worth $4.5m to PRASAC, Chamroeun of Cambodia, TSKI of Philippines

responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it made five investments totaling USD 4.5 million to three microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Asia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Reportedly Aiding Wildlife Conservation Efforts in Rural Tanzania

World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and her TaCare Program, a microcredit program focusing on rural populations surrounding Gombe National Park in Tanzania, report success in preserving wildlife and forests and improving living conditions for poor Tanzanian communities through microfinance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Solicits Input For “Banana Skins” Survey of Prospects for the Commercial Microfinance Industry

CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) has issued a call for participation in its “Banana Skins” survey which aims to identify the main risks facing the industry over the next two to three years based on the views of practitioners, investors and close observers of microfinance.