Event Name: The 2010 Asia Microfinance Forum
Event Date: October 12 – October 15, 2010
Event Location: Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Category: Transparency
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Sanabel Grant Certificates of Transparency to 43 Arab Microfinance Institutions
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Sanabel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Arabic microfinance, recently awarded certificates of transparency to 43 microfinance institutions from Arab countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) Discussion Indicates Need for Greater Focus on Rural Areas
The Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), an organization established in 1995 and comprised of 12 microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout Pakistan, recently held an organized discussion regarding Pakistan’s rural finance market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Calls for “Test Pilots” to Assess New Features of MIX Market Website, May Begin Charging for Premium Content
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has announced the launch of new services on its MIX Market website starting in July 2010, including mid-year data for select microfinance institutions (MFIs) and more comprehensive and up-to-date country profiles. According to MIX Market, eventually these services may only be available to paying subscribers, but the date of any such change is not specified.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MIX Market Releases 2008-2009 Microfinance Trend Report on Russia, Revealing Financial Crisis Highest in 2009
The MIX Market has released an analysis of Russian microfinance data entitled “Russia Microfinance Trend Report 2008-2009,” which states that the peak of the crisis in the Russian microfinance sector occurred at the end of 2008 and in early 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India: Microfinance Industry Predicts $30b in Loan Portfolio and 110m Clients By 2014
In a report from Intellecap, a social sector advisory firm, it is predicted that the Indian microfinance industry will achieve a portfolio of 110 million borrowers and INR 135,000 crore (USD 30 billion) by 2014.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network Asks for Feedback on Reporting Standards
The Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, an international organization with the goal of connecting microenterprise practitioners, is calling on the microfinance community to contribute to the update of the SEEP Framework, a guide for measuring the financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Brings Launch of Transparent Pricing Initiative to Bolivia and Ecuador, Funded by the Ford Foundation and MicroNed
MFTransparency, a non-governmental organization which promotes accurate and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its work to launch its transparent pricing initiative in both Ecuador and Bolivia. The initiative is being funded by the Ford Foundation, which provided a grant (amount unspecified) to MFTransparency to expand its data collection and dissemination efforts in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency and The MasterCard Foundation Launch Enabling APR & EIR Program to Promote Transparency in Microfinance in Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries
MFTransparency, a US-based nonprofit that encourages fair and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, and the MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that aims to increase access to microfinance and education, have joined together to launch the Enabling Africa to Price Responsibly & Educate on Interest Rates program (Enabling APR & EIR). The Enabling APR & EIR Program aims to raise awareness of transparent pricing issues in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Microfinance Network, UK Department for International Development (DFID), Citi Foundation, State Bank of Pakistan Launch Microfinance Credit Information Bureau
Pakistan?s Microfinance Credit Information Bureau (MF-CIB) has been launched as a joint venture by the Pakistan Microfinance Network, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Citi Foundation and the State Bank of Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, Two States in Southern India, Mandate Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) To Register Under Local Money Lending Laws; Mandate Challenged in Supreme Court
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, two states in southern India, have mandated that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) register under local moneylending laws, but The Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC), an NFBC in India, has challenged this mandate in Supreme Court [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Seeks Nominations for Social Performance Reporting Awards 2010
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) is seeking nominations for the Social Performance Reporting Awards, established in 2009 by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), the Ford Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), a group aimed at defining social performance for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Brazilian Microfinance Report
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) recently released the 2009 benchmarking report on the microfinance sector in Brazil, available in Spanish.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Benchmarking Report on Africa
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) recently released the 2009 benchmarking report on microfinance in Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Benchmarking Report on Eastern Europe and Central Asia in Russian
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) recently released the 2009 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report in Russian.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), National Bank of Tajikistan and Swiss Government Launch Credit Information Bureau in Tajikistan
The Credit Information Bureau in Tajikistan has been launched by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank; the National Bank of Tajikistan, the country’s central bank; and the Swiss government as part of the Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Advisory Services Project, which is funded by the Swiss government.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New York Times Article Addresses High Interest Rates and Mission Drift Among Microfinance Providers
A recent article featured in the New York Times newspaper entitled, “Banks Making Big Profits From Tiny Loans,” argues there is a growing mission drift among microfinance providers and discusses the efficacy of microloans and the need for more transparency in the industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group Database of Remittance Prices Worldwide Finds Average Cost for Sending $200 is Down to 8.72 Percent
The World Bank Group, a group of five organizations with a mission to improve living standards for people in the developing world, has published the fourth iteration of its Remittance Prices Worldwide database.