Event Name: MF Tech 2012 Conference

Event Date: June 26 to June 27, 2012

Event Location:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Continue Reading »

Event Name: Transformational Microfinance LATAM

Event Date: May 22 to May 23, 2012

Event Location: JW Marriott Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico Continue Reading »

According to data attributed to the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), an organization that supervises microfinance operations of Bangladeshi nongovernmental organizations, microfinance borrowers in Bangladesh earned BDT 3.8 billion (USD 46.5 million) in interest on their savings for the period from July to December in 2011. Continue Reading »

PlaNet Finance, a nongovernmental organization based in France, recently announced that its shea butter project in northern Ghana has employed 3,500 women to date and is expected to employ 1,500 more in the next year [1]. Continue Reading »

The United States Senate recently introduced the Microfinance and Microenterprise Enhancement Act of 2011, which proposes that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) focus its financial inclusion efforts on incorporating the use of technology and serving vulnerable groups, very poor people and women, [2]. Continue Reading »

Mifos is a software package used to manage the data of microfinance institutions. The software is “open-source” meaning that it is free of charge and can be edited to meet local needs. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Inclusive Financial Innovation: Making Finance and Insurance Markets Work for the Poor

Event Date: May 21 to May 22, 2012

Event Location: Hotel Pullman Dakar Teranga, Dakar, Senegal Continue Reading »

“Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Four Countries;” by Chris Bold, David Porteous and Sarah Rotman; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); February 2012; 28 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.56877/ Continue Reading »

The National Automotive Council (NAC), an agency of the Nigerian government, is planning to formally launch a NGN 1 billion (USD 6.3 million) microcredit facility for cooperatives of 10 to 20 automotive mechanics. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that supports private-sector development, has announced plans to assist Arvand, a deposit-taking microfinance organization based in Tajikistan, in developing its agricultural loan portfolio in the Sughd province. Continue Reading »

The government of Fiji, through its Department of Social Welfare, is promoting financial inclusion through implementation of an electronic government-to-person (G2P) payment program, which includes access to no-fee bank accounts to previously unbanked recipients. Continue Reading »

Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, has reportedly announced that Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) based in the US state of New York City, will open additional branches in California, Michigan and Nebraska. Continue Reading »

Prevoir Kampuchea Micro-life Insurance Plc (PKMI), a subsidiary of French insurance company Group Prevoir (GP), has started operations reportedly becoming the first microinsurance provider in Cambodia. Continue Reading »

Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the technical assistance arm of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a development finance investment fund, have collaborated on a financial literacy project for which PMCF created a “guide to smart borrowing” that covers topics including conducting business with financial institutions, obtaining a loan, acting as a guarantor on a loan, management of household budgets and the basics of consumer protection. The guide emphasizes details of the loan application process. Continue Reading »

Cambodia’s microfinance industry reportedly has announced measures to assist its borrowers that were affected by floods between September and November 2011. Continue Reading »

Azerbaijani microfinance institution AccessBank has announced that it will be offering insurance policies for vehicle owners. Continue Reading »

The Philippine Department of Finance has announced that the government is “promoting micro-insurance as strategy to protect low income earners and the informal sector from uncertain events or risks” such as “typhoons, floods and earthquakes.” Continue Reading »

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), an agency of the federal government of Nigeria, has reportedly appointed debt recovery agents (DRAs) for microfinance banks (MFBs) in liquidation to recover “debts owed to the 103 closed MFBs nationwide.” Continue Reading »