The Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, recently commented that mainstream financial institutions are not currently, but should be, reaching India’s poor.
Category: Transparency
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi on August 31, 2010, in Blantyre, Malawi, Hosted by Microfinance Transparency
Event Name: Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi
Event Date: August 31, 2010
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Announces 300 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) So Far Registered to Submit Performance Record to “Second Annual Social Performance Reporting Awards” in 2011
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) recently announced that approximately 300 microfinance institutions (MFIs) plan to submit their performance record to the “Second Annual Social Performance Reporting Awards,” an event to take place in 2011 that is being put together by CGAP, the Ford Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) to promote transparency of MFIs and display their achievements.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Peru (ASOMIF Peru) Credit Portfolio Up 19 Percent from 2009
The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Peru (ASOMIF Peru), a network of 23 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Peru, has reported that as of April 2010, the country’s credit portfolio for microfinance institutions (MFIs) was USD 5.9 billion, up 19 percent from April 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases Initial Set of “Country Briefings” Covering Morocco, Kenya, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Peru
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has recently released its first set of “Country Briefings” which provide information on microfinance institution (MFI) performance, funding structure and supply and demand.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: The State of Iraq’s Microfinance Industry by The Louis Berger Group Incorporated, Produced for the US Agency for International Development (USAID)
By The Louis Berger Group Incorporated, produced for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), June 2010, 56 pages, available at: http://www.imfi.org/files/StateOfIMFI_USAID_en.pdf
The authors of this paper report that Iraq’s microfinance industry was established in 2003 and is now comprised of 14 microfinance institutions (MFIs) spread out over Iraq’s 18 provinces.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases “2009 Africa Microfinance Analysis & Benchmarking Report” in French
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has recently released a new version of the “2009 Africa Microfinance Analysis & Benchmarking Report” in French, which covers information on 195 African microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Blue Financial Services Limited Warns Borrowers to Repay Outstanding Loans in Rwanda
Blue Financial Services Limited, a South African microfinance institution (MFI) that lost its operating license in Rwanda recently, has announced that it may take legal action against Rwandan borrowers who do not pay back outstanding loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases New Funding Structure Data
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has recently released funding structure data, which covers information on 890 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 86 countries, reporting on 13,000 outstanding obligations and USD 15 billion in outstanding debt.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) Revokes Blue Financial Services’ Operating License
The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the central bank of Rwanda, recently reported that Blue Financial Services, a South African microfinance institution (MFI) with reported assets of ZAR 1.5 billion (equivalent to USD 200 million), has lost its operating license in Rwanda after operating in the country for three years, because of “fiscal fraud.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) Annual Meeting Attended by 200 Microfinance Specialists from 50 Countries
The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), a “global forum of microfinance experts,” held its annual meeting in Bern, Switzerland, from June 29 to July 3, 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Launches Online Database of Access Indicators
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization of 186 countries that works to “foster global monetary cooperation,” has recently launched an online database intended to offer the public access to “financial access indicators” such as the availability of automated teller machines, amount of deposits, presence of bank branch networks, availability of loans, types of debt securities issued and types of insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Global Fund to Invest $5m in Triodos Microfinance Fund
The Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a partnership between the Norwegian public and private sectors that provides assistance for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, has recently announced that its Global Fund will make an investment of EUR 4 million (equivalent to USD 5 million) in Triodos Microfinance Fund, a microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg with total assets of USD 36.2 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus to Discontinue Microfinance-Related Activities to Focus on Other Poverty Alleviation Strategies, Will Release 40 Staff Members in India, Kenya, United States
Unitus, an international nonprofit organization that provides funding and consulting services to microfinance institutions, has recently announced that it will be discontinuing its microfinance-related activities and will direct its remaining assets to “new early-stage, poverty-focused philanthropic activities” [1].
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Women’s Empowerment through Islamic Microfinance in Egypt, by Valentina Costa, Hala Makhlouf and Perrine Mazaud
By Valentina Costa, Hala Makhlouf and Perrine Mazaud, published by Microfinance Gateway, February 2010, 14 pages, available at: http://www.ceistorvergata.it/Public/files/mesci/file/ColonnaDX/Women%E2%80%99s%20Empowerment%20through%20Islamic%20Microfinance%
20in%20Egypt%20COSTA%20MAKHLOUF%20MAZAUD.pdf
The article posits that Islamic microfinance helps to eliminate gender discrimination in Egypt.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency to Launch Transparent Pricing Initiative in Eight West African Countries, in Partnership with Luxembourg Development Cooperation
(Version Française de la publication ci-dessous)
MFTransparency, a non-governmental organization which promotes accurate and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its transparent pricing initiative to eight West African countries: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Niger.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Aims to Increase Accountability in India with Appointment of Ombudsmen
An article from Business Standard, a business newspaper based in India, reports that the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India, a self-regulated network organization of 39 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, will appoint four regional ombudsmen in the next three months to encourage transparency in the microfinance sector. While specific duties of the proposed regulators were not provided, MFIN stated that no appointees would be from MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange Releases “Is Microfinance Growing Too Fast?” by Adrian Gonzalez Indicating Portfolio Quality Negatively Correlated with Increasing Number of Borrowers
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released a paper by researcher Adrian Gonzalez entitled “Is Microfinance Growing Too Fast?”