Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Russia reportedly disbursed loans of approximately RUR 29 billion (USD 1 billion) to individual borrowers in 2011, representing a 32.2-percent increase from 2010. Continue Reading »

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a nonprofit network of 15 “values-based” banks, released a report it commissioned at its recent annual conference in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, suggesting that values-based banks (VBBs), banks that prioritize social progress, are financially stronger than mainstream banks. Continue Reading »

The Community for Open Source Microfinance, a US-based nonprofit that has taken over leadership of maintaining the open-source microfinance software Mifos from the US-based Grameen Foundation, has released its first major upgrade since the transition [1]. Continue Reading »

AccessBank, an Azerbaijan-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently announced that it has increased its share capital by 25 percent from AZN 67.8 million (USD 86 million) to AZN 85 million (USD 108 million). Continue Reading »

Event Name: Sixth Annual Penn Microfinance Conference “Microfinance 2.0: An Agenda for Revival”

Event Date: March 24, 2012

Event Location: Jon M Huntsman Hall, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Continue Reading »

The Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of the country, has announced that Islamic microfinance loan activity in Bangladesh has increased from BDT 282 crore (USD 34.5 million) in 2009 to BDT 4,620 crore (USD 565 million) in December 2011, representing an increase from 0.93 percent to 8.38 percent of total Islamic financing. Continue Reading »

Nigerian mobile financial services platform Paga has received a USD 2 million grant from Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), a development organization based in Nigeria, to develop low-cost financial products and distribute them through Paga’s agent network. Continue Reading »

The Bank of Ghana (BOG) reportedly has called on microfinance institutions (MFIs) to apply for operational licenses and operate by national bank rules. Continue Reading »

LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based for-profit equity fund investing in microinsurance, has announced two new hires. Continue Reading »

The European Investment Fund, a public-private partnership that provides risk finance to lenders to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, and Banca Transilvania, a privately-owned Romanian bank, have signed a EUR 7.5 million (USD 10 million) loan agreement under the European Progress Microfinance Facility, an organization that provides grants and funding to microcredit lenders in the European Union. Continue Reading »

Fitch, a rating agency with headquarters in London and New York, reportedly has affirmed the rating of Peruvian nonprofit holding company Grupo ACP Inversiones y Desarrollo (Grupo ACP) at BB-, indicating an elevated vulnerability to default risk. Continue Reading »

“Research Insight: Peru – Model Market for Microfinance;” by Christian Etzensperger; published by responsAbility Social Investments; March 2012; 9 pages; available at: www.responsability.com/domains/responsability_ch/data/free_docs/Research_Insight_Acces_to_Finance_in_Peru_EN.pdf Continue Reading »

Progression Eastern African Microfinance Equity Fund (PEAMEF), a limited-life investment fund incorporated in Mauritius, has launched its operations in Nairobi, Kenya, with a mission aimed at improving microfinance in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Uganda. Continue Reading »

The Calvert Foundation, a US-based nonprofit specializing in social impact investment, in collaboration with Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, recently announced the launch of Women INvesting in Women INitiative (WIN-WIN) whereby USD 20 million will be invested to create opportunities for women lacking access to traditional financing. Continue Reading »

French NGO Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologies (GRET), funded by the French Government’s Agence Francaise de Developpement, is piloting the Health Insurance Project (HIP), a program in Cambodia aimed at funding basic health care services for rural garment workers, reducing their vulnerability to unforeseen risks. Continue Reading »

“Indian Microfinance: Looking Beyond the AP Act and its Devastating Impact on the Poor;” published by Legatum Ventures; March 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.legatumventures.com/ Continue Reading »

In reference to the report ‘Lender’s own probe links it to suicides,’ by US-based news service Associated Press (AP), Indian microlender SKS Microfinance, has issued a statement expressing that the allegations that its lending practices may have contributed to customer suicides are “baseless” and simply re-state earlier allegations from 1.5 years prior. Continue Reading »

Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization that aims to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) replicate Grameen Bank’s joint-liability lending model, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance, have issued a USD 1 million joint guarantee to support Proempresa, a Peru-based MFI. Continue Reading »