by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Over-indebtedness, Microfinance and Environment Award, Conflict Zones at e-MFP’s European Microfinance Week

MicroCapital: Please describe one of the key issues to be covered this year at European Microfinance Week.

Christoph Pausch: The question of over-indebtedness is still the major risk for the sector, as identified in the most recent Banana Skins survey. We had a very successful plenary last year exploring the issue from a research perspective. This year, we’re taking a very different approach by bringing CEOs of leading microfinance institutions (MFIs) from three countries – Bangladesh, Morocco, and Mexico – to discuss how they’ve been dealing with the issue. Each of these countries has had a different experience, with Bangladesh having successfully averted a potential crisis by slowing market growth (as described in an excellent paper by Stuart Rutherford and Greg Chen). Morocco was one of the original “microfinance crisis” countries during 2008 and 2009, and the MFIs there have had an interesting experience in resolving the problems from that period. Finally, Mexico is a major market with serious concerns regarding over-indebtedness, and MFIs there are working to avert a potential crisis.

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Narda Sotomayor on Regulating Microfinance via Proportionality, Financial Education and Mobile Money in Peru

MicroCapital: Can you tell us a bit about your talk planned for European Microfinance Week on “balancing financial inclusion with market stability”?

Narda Sotomayor: A key element to achieve this balance is the principle of proportionality, under which regulations vary based on the risks associated with the product or service in question. For instance, for microloans for businesses with overall debt below PEN 20,000 (USD 7,000), the required documentation is minimal, and loan provision requirements are based only on the number of days any loans are overdue. The lender has the freedom to establish prices to cover its costs, such that institutional sustainability is guaranteed. It was determined that anti-money-laundering rules were making it too costly to open deposit accounts for the poor, mainly because of the heavy burden of “know-your-customer” documentation.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Syndicates Loans Totaling $60m to BBVA Paraguay to Fund Small, Medium-sized Enterprises

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, has announced that it will loan a total of USD 60 million to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Paraguay (BBVA Paraguay), a subsidiary of the Spanish financial services group BBVA.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), HelpAge USA Launch Research Initiative on Financial Inclusion of Older Adults in Colombia

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit Accion, and HelpAge USA, an affiliate of UK-based NGO network HelpAge International, have launched a research initiative on the financial inclusion of older adults in developing countries.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Argentina’s Banco Macro Launches “Alumbra” Business, Mortgage Loans for Micro-, Small Enterprises via Fundacion Macro

Banco Macro, a private bank in Argentina, recently announced that it has launched “Alumbra,”[1] a lending vehicle for micro- and small enterprises.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Acquires 10% Stake in Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Credinka from Diviso Grupo Financiero

Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced the acquisition of a 10-percent stake in Credinka, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Peruvian city of Cusco, from Diviso Grupo Financiero, a financial group that has been listed on the Lima Stock Exchange since 2007.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microinsurance Distribution Channels, Friendship Bridge, MicroVest Impact Reports

“Microinsurance Distribution Channels: Insights for Insurers;” by Alice Merry, Pranav Prashad and Tobias Hoffarth; published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Organization as Paper Number 33; June 2014; 25 pages; available at http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/sites/default/files/MP33.pdf

The Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations that addresses labour standards and related issues, recently analyzed the distribution channels available to microinsurance providers based on the experiences of 60 of its partner institutions.

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asociación de Bancos del Perú (ASBANC) Partners with Ericsson to Implement Mobile Money System

The Asociación de Bancos del Perú (ASBANC), an association of 23 financial institutions in the country, has announced a partnership with Ericsson, a Sweden-based telecommunications company, with the aim of implementing a mobile money platform in Peru called Mobile Money.

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Marion Allet: e-MFP Microfinance and Environment Action Group Offers Tools for Microfinance Institutions Looking to Go Green

MicroCapital: Would you please tell us about the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Microfinance and Environment Action Group?

Marion Allet: The e-MFP Microfinance and Environment Action Group was officially launched in February 2013. It is an initiative of various organizations that were already involved in “green microfinance,” such as MicroEnergy International, ADA, PlaNet Finance, Enclude, PAMIGA (the Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) etc. A few years ago, there were very few actors addressing the issue of the environment within microfinance, so we thought there was a real need for sharing experiences. We also wanted to provide some practical tools to help stakeholders understand what green microfinance is and how to get involved.

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Action Group Proposes Best Practices for Microfinance Institutions Offering Remittances

MicroCapital: Please tell us a bit about the Remittances Action Group of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP).

Gera Voorrips: As you know, e-MFP is a membership organization that promotes members working together on specific topics on which they have a shared interest. In 2011, I took the initiative to engage several members who were working on remittances to launch an Action Group to collaborate on this topic. As one of the requirements of an e-MFP Action Group is to work toward specific results, we decided that we wanted to focus on best practices for microfinance institutions (MFIs) that want to be successful in remittances.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to Loan $100m to El Salvador for On-Lending to Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution operating in Latin America and the Caribbean, reportedly has approved a loan of USD 100 million to promote lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in El Salvador.

by Ben Krupp -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) to Host 17th Annual Inter-American MicroEnterprise Forum (Foromic), November 4-6, 2014, Guayaquil, Ecuador

Event Name: 17th Inter-American MicroEnterprise Forum (Foromic)

Event Date: November 4-6, 2014

Event Location: Guayaquil Convention Center, Guayaquil, Ecuador 

by Ben Krupp -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Effects of Female Leadership on Microfinance Institutions (MFIs); Impact of Microcredit in Morocco; Social Performance Management Guide

“Female Leadership, Performance, and Governance in Microfinance Institutions;” by Reidar Øystein Strøm, Bert D’Espallier and Roy Mersland; published by Elsevier; 2014; 16 pages; available for purchase at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426614000284

This report examines the relationship between the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and whether women occupy high management positions, including CEO, chair or director, in those MFIs.

by Ben Krupp -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $14m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, China, India, Peru, Tajikistan

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset group C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that it has distributed credits in several currencies that total approximately the equivalent of USD 13.5 million to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, China, India, Peru and Tajikistan through its Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance Local Currency.

by Ben Krupp -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance “Banana Skins” Risk Assessment; Effects of Microloans from Compartamos in Mexico; Youth Financial Inclusion Video

“Microfinance Banana Skins 2014: Facing Reality;” published by Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation; July 2014; 84 pages; available athttp://csfi.org/files/Microfinance_Banana_Skins_2014_-_WEB.pdf

This report, which is based on data collected by surveying 306 people associated with the microfinance industry, examines 19 risks faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the globe.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $25m in Proyectos Educativos Integrales del Peru to Establish Educational Institutions for Low-Income Students

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has announced a USD 25 million investment in Proyectos Educativos Integrales del Peru (PEIP), an education company, to create a university and a network of technical institutes to educate low-income students in Peru.