The Center for Financial and Credit Counseling (CFKS), a nonprofit established in 2010 in the Bosnian city of Tuzla, has been set up to counter the negative impact of over-indebtedness through financial education, counseling, mediation and debt resolution.
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “‘And Who Listens to the Poor?’ Shocks, Stresses and Safety Nets in India and Pakistan” by Karishma Huda, Sandeep Kaur, Nicolina Lamhauge Explores Experiences of Female Participants in Microfinance Program “2009 Trickle Up Ultra Poor Pilot Program”
Trickle Up, US-based nonprofit that aims to alleviate poverty in poor countries, recently released a study “And Who Listens to the Poor?’ Shocks, Stresses and Safety Nets in India and Pakistan” by Karishma Huda, Sandeep Kaur and Nicolina Lamhauge, documenting the cases of 20 women participants in its 2009 Trickle Up Ultra Poor Pilot Program [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating, MicroRate, Planet Rating Sign Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct, Sanjay Sinha of Micro-Credit Ratings International (M-CRIL) Criticizes Commercial Rating Agencies as “Too Liberal” with Microfinance Institutions
Three providers of institutional, performance and social ratings of microfinance institutions (MFIs), MicroFinanza Rating of Italy, US-based MicroRate and French Planet Rating, recently signed the Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Supreme Court of India Sends SKS Back to Andhra Pradesh High Court to Challenge Microfinance (Regulation of Moneylending) Act of 2010
SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently was directed by the Supreme Court of India, the country’s apex court, to plead its case against the enforcement of the Regulation of Microlending Act of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), in front of the AP High Court, the state’s apex court.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Botswana to Stop Facilitating Repayment of Microfinance Loans by Civil Servants
The government of Botswana has announced that it will cease acting as an intermediary between microfinance institutions (MFIs) and civil servants for the collection of microloans through the provision of “deduction-at-source” from public servants’ wages [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: On Financial Access Initiative Website, Daniel Rozas Highlights Roles of Credit Bureaux, Smart Campaign, Local Regulations to Address Multiple Borrowing in Microfinance
In an article recently published on the website of the US-based Financial Access Initiative, Brussels-based microfinance consultant Daniel Rozas examines multiple borrowing and proposes several ways address the issue.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Kenya, Chase Bank Creates Rafiki Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institution
Chase Bank, a US-based commercial bank, is reportedly looking beyond the business model of “corporate giants” in Kenya by creating a deposit-taking microfinance institution (DTM) subsidiary, Rafiki Deposit Taking Microfinance Kenya Limited, to attract clients who have “outgrown” traditional microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MFTransparency, Agence Française de Développement, UN Capital Development Fund, Luxembourg Cooperation, African Microfinance Network, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) to Host African Microfinance Pricing Transparency Leadership Forum, October 5-7, 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya
Event Name: African Microfinance Pricing Transparency Leadership Forum
Event Date: October 5 – October 7, 2011
Event Location: Nairobi, Kenya
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Focus Note Distributed at Fifth African Microcredit Conference Lauds Morocco as a “Microcredit Champion,” Contrary to Past Reports Expressing Concern
At the recently concluded Fifth African Microcredit Conference, which was held in Ethiopia, a focus note reportedly commended the Moroccan microcredit sector, remarking that from 2003 to 2007 microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) loan portfolio “multiplied 11 times and client outreach by four” in the country [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria Approves New Capital Base Requirements for Microfinance Banks (MFBs), MFBs Await Capital Verification Results
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s central banking authority, has approved the new capital base requirements for microfinance banks (MFBs) as per the expectations reported in the MicroCapital story dated June 28.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 25% of Microfinance Borrowers Use Part of Enterprise Loan Proceeds for Consumption, According to Study by Dean Karlan, Jonathan Zinman
In a recent paper, “List Randomization for Sensitive Behavior: An Application for Measuring Use of Loan Proceeds,” researchers Dean Karlan and Jonathan Zinman put forth data indicating that enterprise microloan borrowers tend to underreport the percentage of the loan, if any, that they use for non-business purposes such as household expenses [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Sector Expected to Decline by 20 to 40 Percent During Fiscal Year Ending March 2012
Data from India’s 39-member Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) for the first five months of fiscal year 2011-2012 indicate a decline in the industry’s loan portfolio.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammad Yunus Suggests Microfinance “Misinterpreted” as Charity in the Arab World due to Outdated Regulation
Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Bank, recently argued that the Arab world has “misinterpreted the system’s true principles” by operating it as a “charity affair” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) Report, “Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion,” Microfinance Stakeholders Cite Financial Education as Top Need
The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently released a report titled “Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion”, that identifies client financial education as the top opportunity in the microfinance sphere [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swiss Re Commits to Offering Cholera Insurance in Haiti and Crop Insurance in Senegal, Clinton Global Citizen Awards Announced at CGI Annual Meeting
Swiss Re, a global reinsurer, announced during the recent 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting its commitment to provide insurance against cholera for Haitian women entrepreneurs and an “insurance for work” program intended to help farmers in Senegal maintain food and income security amidst climate change.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Skincare Company Dermalogica Establishes Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship (FITE) Project to Encourage Customers to Lend to Entrepreneurial Women via Microfinance Intermediary Kiva
Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship (FITE), an online lending platform designed by US-based microfinance intermediary Kiva, has been established by US-based skincare brand Dermalogica to raise money for on-lending to women worldwide to invest in their businesses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Due Diligence Critical as Indian Banks Select Business Correspondents to Downscale to Microfinance, Opines Ramesh S Arunachalam
Indian rural finance practitioner Mr Ramesh S Arunachalam recently addressed the need for due diligence in the business correspondent (BC) model that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, adopted in 2010 to increase financial access for low-income people [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Minimum Standards Proposed for Microfinance Institutions’ Management Information Systems in India
An opinion piece by Rural Finance Practitioner Ramesh S Arunachalam that was recently published in Indian personal finance magazine Moneylife highlights the importance of management information systems (MIS) to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and calls for the establishment of minimum MIS standards as a prerequisite for MFI accreditation in India.