United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a US-based government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, recently released a policy focused on youth in developing nations that recognizes young people “as a driving force in global development.”
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Virtual Terminal Network (VTN) Boosts Mobile Payment System In Nigeria
Virtual Terminal Network (VTN), a mobile payment company in Nigeria, recently announced plans to launch VCASH, a mobile payment service that recently received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s financial regulator.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank for International Settlements Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Conference Emphasizes Minimizing Regulation For Smaller Transactions
The Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an international financial institution based in Basel, Switzerland, which aids central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, recently hosted its first Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) Conference with the theme “Promoting financial inclusion through proportionate standards and guidance.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First National Bank Namibia Releases Mobile Money Service
After awaiting regulatory approval for over a year, First National Bank (FNB) Namibia, a unit of FNB South Africa, recently released its e-Wallet service, which allows customers to transfer funds via the mobile phones of individuals, including to recipients who do not have bank accounts.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru, Bolivia, Pakistan Top 2012 Global Microscope on Microfinance Business Environment
According to the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2012, a recent report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Peru is the top country in microfinance for the fifth consecutive year due to its strong regulatory environment.
SPECIAL REPORT: Panel: Seeking Diversification, Microfinance Investors Often Reap Annual Returns of 4%
On Friday, November 16 at European Microfinance Week, a conference hosted by the Luxembourg-based European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), Sebastian von Stauffenberg, the CEO of US-based microfinance rating agency MicroRate, said of the larger investment community, “People outside of our microfinance bubble speak another language – if we don’t speak their language, the whole trickle-down effect [of increased investment in microfinance] does not occur.” Mr von Stauffenberg was speaking as part of a panel on microfinance investment that also included Sebastien Juhen of Swiss microfinance investor BlueOrchard Finance, who said that microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) should work to improve their communication to investors regarding the risks of investing in microfinance including how investment managers address these risks.
SPECIAL REPORT: Responsible Microfinance Implementation Action Group Looks to Boost Usage of Existing Tools, Distributes Template of Covenants for Investors to Attach to Loans to Microbanks
At the European Microfinance Week conference today in Luxembourg, representatives of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Action Group on the Implementation of Responsible Microfinance led a discussion on its work. The group presented graphics compiling existing social performance tools such as social audits and the publication of pricing data via the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Transparency. One of the suggested steps for microbanks embarking on the process of evaluating its social performance is to make a public commitment through an effort such as the Smart Campaign, which is backed by US-based nonprofit Accion, or the Global Appeal for Responsible Microfinance, which is promoted by a set of institutions led by Oxus Group, an initiative of French NGO Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: China Records Increase in Number of Microcredit Institutions
The People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank and financial services regulator, recently reported an increase in the number of micro-credit companies to 5630 by the end of September 2012, which represents a 48 percent year-on-year growth in the sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agricultural Sector To Benefit from Central Bank of Nigeria’s $3.9b Loan
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s apex financial regulator, recently announced plans to disburse the sum of NGN 600 billion (USD 3.9 billion) as loans to small holder farmers.
SPECIAL REPORT: Sanjay Sinha of M-CRIL Calls Overexuberant Growth “Recipe for Disaster” at European Microfinance Week Opening
This morning, following a day of member meetings, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) opened its eighth European Microfinance Week, which is themed “Combining Strength, Delivering Results” and aims to address the loss of confidence in many circles that microfinance benefits poor people. In the opening plenary session, Sanjay Sinha, managing director of India’s Micro Credit Rating International Limited (M-CRIL), said that, “Moderate growth is good for inclusion. Rampant growth, which is what we had for a long time in India, is a recipe for disaster…. In order to reduce growth, we need to temper the egos of the promoters of microfinance institutions (MFIs). And we all know we need to dampen the expectations of investors – I’m talking mainly of the Indian commercial banking sector.”
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Platform Remittances Action Group, GIZ, PHB Development Release Handbook: “Financial Literacy for Remittances and Diaspora Investments”
This afternoon, the Remittances Action Group of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) met to share member experiences, plan future action steps and announce the release of the “Financial Literacy for Remittances and Diaspora Investments” handbook. The document, which is the first of three planned outputs to be completed by the group, was published by German bilateral development agency GIZ, with participation from PHB Development, a Belgium-based consulting firm, and e-MFP, which is a Luxembourg-based membership organization. As the handbook was released as a compact disc and on paper, it is not available online other than via the above link as of today. Details on the other proceedings of the meeting, such as the other planned outputs of the Remittance Action Group and news from action group members, are slated for publication by MicroCapital in a separate brief.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Firms Investing in Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) After Two-Year Hiatus
Private equity firms are beginning to invest in Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) that offer products such as insurance, pension plans and chit funds in order to diversify their portfolios. It is reported that private equity firms have invested INR 7.5 billion (USD 138 million) in Indian MFIs this year, as compared to INR 2.5 billion (USD 46 million) invested in 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: To Boost Usage, Mobile Money Service Providers in Nigeria Told To Focus on the Unbanked
A representative of the Nigerian arm of Accenture, a consulting firm with its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland reportedly has advised mobile money service providers in Nigeria to re-strategize their operations so as to increase patronage of their services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinMark Trust 2012 FinScope South Africa Survey: Banking Population Increased from 63% to 67% in Past Year
According to the recent FinScope South Africa survey from South African nonprofit FinMark Trust, 22.5 million individuals over the age of 16 are part of South Africa’s banking population, which is equivalent to 67 percent of the country’s adult population.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Habitat for Humanity, Citi Foundation, Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Unveil The Housing Microfinance: Product Development Toolkit
Habitat for Humanity, a US-based nonprofit organization, and Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, recently unveiled “The Housing Microfinance: Product Development Toolkit” in an effort to increase lending to improve housing for poor people worldwide.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Initiative Microfinance Bank (GIMFB) of Nigeria Turns to Group Lending to Cut Default Rate
The Global Initiative Microfinance Bank Limited (GIMFB), a Nigerian microfinance bank (MFB), reportedly has released two new products with the aim of minimizing bad debt: GIMFB village banking and GIMFB medal deposit accounts.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SME Business Support Fund, Kashf Microfinance Bank Partner
SME Business Support Fund, a nonprofit organisation that assists small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as business development service providers (BDSPs), recently partnered with Kashf Microfinance Bank in an effort to create viable business support models that will encourage self employment in Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Microfinance Network Accepting Proposals To Present On “Microfinance as a Tool of Active Ageing”
The European Microfinance Network (EMN), a France-based NGO whose mission is to promote microfinance, microentrepreneurship and self employment to fight social and economic exclusion, recently announced plans to hold a debate on the topic “Microfinance as a tool of active ageing” on December 14, 2012, in Brussels.