by Witt Gatchell -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State-Owned Union Bank to Offer Microcredit in Indian State of Andhra Pradesh

The Union Bank of India (UBI), a state-owned bank based in Mumbai, has launched a new microfinance scheme to support self-help groups (SHGs), village-based financial intermediaries comprised of groups of 10 to 20 women, in Andhra Pradesh.

by Trevor Kwong -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian State of Karnataka to Start State-run Microfinance Institution

The government of Karnataka, a state in India, recently announced plans to start a state-run microfinance institution (MFI) with an investment of INR 5 billion (approximately USD 110 million), reportedly making it the second state in India to run an MFI, the other being Andhra Pradesh.

by Witt Gatchell -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership for Microfinance, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, April 25-30, 2011

Event Name: HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership for Microfinance

Event Date: April 25 – April 30, 2011

Event Location: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

by Witt Gatchell -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: YourStory.in Hosts Sociopreneurship India 2010, Bangalore, India, November 23, 2010, Presenters to Include Dr Thiagarajan, Chair of Madura Micro Finance

Event Name: Sociopreneurship India 2010

Event Date: November 23, 2010

Event Location: Royal Orchid Hotel, Bangalore, India

by Diana Baide -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments of Switzerland Makes Debt Investments Totaling $6m in Microfinance Institution (MFI) ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank CJSC and ACBA Leasing of Armenia

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that in October 2010 it made five debt investments in microfinance institution (MFI) ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank CJSC (ACBA) and its subsidiary leasing branch, ACBA Leasing.

by Diana Baide -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) Microfinance Operations Claim “Breakthrough” in Rural Provinces

The Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC), a commercial bank in China aiming to serve low-income entrepreneurs, has reportedly increased its impact in rural areas through the provision of microloans funded by the Chinese government.

by Diana Baide -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Policy Studies Organization (PSO) Releases “Microfinance, Commercialization and Ethics” by Reinhard Schmidt of Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main

Poverty & Public Policy, a journal published by the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), a US-based policy think tank, has announced the release of a paper titled, “Microfinance, Commercialization and Ethics” by Reinhard Schmidt of Germany’s Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main.

by John Howard-Smith -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Haitian Microfinance Industry Still Struggling in Wake of Earthquake, Increased Regulation on the Horizon

Ten months after the major earthquake that rattled Haiti in January 2010, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks still struggle to regain clients, manage late payments and deal with increasing loan defaults. New industry regulation is also expected after requests to the government from MFIs and banks that are concerned that their clients’ money is not well-protected in case of financial institution default.

by John Howard-Smith -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Munich Re Foundation, International Labour Organization (ILO) Announce Microinsurance Has Potential to Reach 3 Billion People

Munich Re Foundation, a nonprofit founded by German reinsurer Munich Re, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), an arm of the United Nations promoting fair work conditions, announced in advance of a microinsurance conference in Manila, Philippines, that unnamed studies indicate microinsurance has the potential to reach three billion people.

by Diana Baide -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) to Restrict Fees, Cap Microloan Interest Rates at 27%, Discourage Flat Interest Rates

Bangladesh’s Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) has enacted a new regulation capping microfinance institution (MFI) loan rates at 27 percent per year as of July 2011.

by John Howard-Smith -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org, MasterCard Foundation Launch $3.6m Partnership to Boost WaterCredit Program That Uses Microfinance to Increase Access to Clean Water in Africa

Water.org, a nonprofit organization promoting access to clean water in Africa, and MasterCard Foundation, a Toronto-based foundation promoting microfinance and youth education, have launched a four-year, USD 3.6 million partnership to assist microfinance initiatives that relate to clean water in Sub-Saharan Africa.

by John Howard-Smith -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Manager BlueOrchard Invests $5.5m in Fondo de Desarrollo Local (FDL) of Nicaragua, First Allied Savings and Loans Limited (FASL) of Ghana and AB Microfinance Bank of Nigeria

BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based commercial microfinance intermediary BlueOrchard, reported to MicroCapital the details of three debt investments made to microfinance institution (MFI) Nitlapan’s Credit Program Fondo de Desarrollo Local (FDL) of Nicaragua (MFI), First Allied Savings and Loans Limited (FASL), an MFI in Ghana, and the commercial AB Microfinance Bank of Nigeria.