Kiva, a US-based online microlending fundraiser, recently reported on delinquent payments due to Kiva by non-profit institutions L’Association de Lutte pour la promotion des Initiatives de Développement (Alidé) of Benin and Faîtière des Caisses d’Epargne et de Crédit des Associations Villageoises (FECECAV) of Togo.
Category: Regulation
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Publishes Data on 192 Countries
The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), which is mandated to carry out the financial inclusion action plan endorsed at the 2010 summit of the Group of 20 (G20) large economies, has released a set of “basic” financial inclusion indicators populated with data from 192 countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cuba Leases 2,000 State Firms to Private Sector
According to Cuba’s Domestic Trade Ministry, a government body charged with implementing and monitoring domestic wholesale and retail commerce, 2,041 businesses have been leased to 5,479 former employees as part of Cuba’s economic reform plan to introduce non-state management in 47 economic activities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Aims to Increase Financial Inclusion in Unbanked Areas; Number of Indian Villages with Financial Access Tripled to 211k
According to data presented by Deepali Pant Joshi, executive director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at the recent International Summit of Skill Development in New Delhi, the number of villages with access to banks has risen from 67,000 in March 2010 to 211,000 in December 2012 out of a total of 600,000 villages in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Democratic Republic of Congo Fights Corruption by Paying 1m Civil Servants via Mobile Banking
Since Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo vowed in 2012 to replace all cash wage payments in the hopes of minimizing corruption, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has issued wage payments to 270,000 of 1 million civil servants via mobile banking.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India Expands Allowable Microinsurance Agent Entity Types
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the regulatory body of the insurance industry in India, recently issued a circular expanding the types of entities eligible to serve as microinsurance agents and clarifying existing regulations that bar multiple microinsurance agents from employing the same individuals.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Institution Tiers, Microfinance in East Africa, Weather Risk Management
“Microfinance Institution Tier Definitions;” published by MicroRate; April 2013; 2 pages; available at http://www.microrate.com/media/downloads/2013/04/MicroRate-White-paper-Microfinance-Institution-Tier-Definitions.pdf
This report proposes a “tier system that defines microfinance institution [MFI] peer groups by institutional maturity to provide a foundation for industry analysis and informed dialogue.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alliance for Financial Inclusion Launches African Mobile Phone Financial Services Policy Initiative (AMPI)
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a Thailand-based network of financial policymakers from approximately 85 countries, recently launched the African Mobile Phone Financial Services Policy Initiative (AMPI), which will aim to address barriers to the “uptake of mobile financial services” in Africa.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Why People Do Not Buy Microinsurance and What Can We Do About It;” by Michal Matul, Aparna Dalal, Ombeline De Bock and Wouler Gelade; published by Microinsurance Innovation Facility
By Michal Matul, Aparna Dalal, Ombeline De Bock and Wouler Gelade, published by Microinsurance Innovation Facility, February 2013, 31 pages, available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/mifacility/download/mpaper20_buy.pdf
This paper published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a Switzerland-based initiative of the UN’s International Labour Organization, examines the “determinants of demand” for microinsurance products in the developing world and looks at why, despite its potential to mitigate risk, the demand for microinsurance is low.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation to Bailout Microfinance Institutions, Primary Mortgage Banks
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), a quasi-independent agency of the federal government that insures deposit-taking financial institutions, recently announced that it will grant an undisclosed amount of financial assistance to distressed microfinance banks (MFBs) and primary mortgage banks (PMBs) recently closed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs Partner with Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER) of Nicaragua to Increase Financial Access for Micro, Small Entrepreneurs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently partnered with Fundacion para el Desarrollo Socioeconomico Rural (FUNDESER), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Nicaragua, to improve its credit risk management system as part of the MFI’s ongoing transition into a regulated financial entity under Nicaragua’s Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions, known by the Spanish acronym SIBOIF.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Microinsurance in Ghana: Microinsurance as a Means of Insurance Sector Development;” by Jan Meissner; published by the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
By Jan Meissner; published by Ghana’s National Insurance Commission (NIC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); 2013; 243 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.61118/Promoting%20Microinsurance%20in%20Ghana_Full%20Book.pdf
This book analyzes potential ways to enhance the development of the microinsurance sector in Ghana, providing an overview of inclusive financial market development in the country as well as a series of recommended best practices for microinsurance development.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua, Financial Inclusion in Russia, Health Microinsurance in India
“A Simple Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua;” by Mark Schreiner; January 2013; 189 pages; available at http://www.microfinance.com/English/Papers/Scoring_Poverty_Nicaragua_2009_EN.pdf
This document introduces an “easy-to-use” poverty scorecard based on household expenditure data from Nicaragua’s 2009 Living Standards Measurement Survey.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Simplified Tax Code for Microenterprises in Romania Snares Unprofitable Businesses
The government of Romania reportedly has simplified the tax rate for microenterprises, obliging them to pay a 3-percent tax on turnover.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of India’s Andhra Pradesh Moves to Challenge Supreme Court Interim Order as SKS Microfinance Resumes Operations in the State
As Indian microfinance institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance prepares to resume operations in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh under a recent Supreme Court order, the Andhra Pradesh state government is moving to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Curbing Debt Stress, Social Performance in Mexico, UN Human Development Report: The Rise of the South
“Regulatory Options to Curb Debt Stress;” by Gabriel Davel; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); March 2013; 29 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/publications/regulatory-options-curb-debt-stress
This report highlights how the dynamics of credit markets can lead to cycles of credit growth and accumulation of consumer debt followed by widespread default and contraction.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 7th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference: DiversiMFIcation, The New Landscape of Microfinance, March 30, 2013, Philadelphia, USA
Event Name: Penn Microfinance Conference: DiversiMFIcation, The New Landscape of Microfinance
Event Date: March 30, 2013
Event Location: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Supreme Court of India Issues Interim Order Loosening Restrictions on SKS Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh
The Indian Supreme Court has issued an interim order allowing Indian microfinance institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance to operate in the state of Andhra Pradesh without securing no-objection certificates from the state government.