Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, a private German university, in partnership with Protestant University of Congo, a post-secondary college based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is issuing a call for applications for a Masters in Microfinance offered at the Protestant University of Congo.
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Boston Microfinance Club Hosts Panel Discussion, “Beyond the Initial ‘Hype’: The Future of Microfinance”, June 21, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Event Name: Beyond the Initial ‘Hype’: The Future of Microfinance
Event Date: June 21, 2011
Event Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT) Launches Challenge for Financial Innovation Through SME (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise) Finance Innovation Challenge Fund
The SME Finance Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF) of the Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT), which was established by the governments of Canada, Denmark, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands to support efforts of the government of Tanzania to strengthen the country’s financial sector, has issued a challenge to financial service providers to develop and test innovative business models that will deliver improved services and new products to underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wholesale Lenders Agree to Restructure $1b in Debt for Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Spandana Sphoorty, Asmitha, Future, Share, Trident
Following two months of negotiations, unnamed wholesale commercial lenders have agreed to restructure debt worth INR 5,000 crores (USD 1 billion) for five Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs): Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited, Asmitha Microfin Limited, Future Financial Services Limited, Share Microfin Limited and Trident Microfin Private Limited.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: An Emerging Platform: From Money Transfer System to Mobile Money Ecosystem; By Jake Kendall, Bill Maurer, Philip Machoka and Clara Veniard; Published by University of California Irvine School of Law
By Jake Kendall, Bill Maurer, Philip Machoka and Clara Veniard; published by UC Irvine School of Law; May 2011; 15 pages; available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1830704
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU): Afghan Islamic Investment and Financial Cooperatives (IIFCs) Distributed Microfinance Loans Worth $7.4m in Last Third of 2010
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based trade association and support agency for credit unions, reports that between September and December 2010, 30 Islamic investment and financial cooperatives (IIFCs) in Afghanistan distributed loans worth USD 7.4 million to approximately 8,000 farmers and other small and medium-scale business owners, increasing cooperative membership by 10 percent.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance Reconsidering Business Strategy to Rebuild Reputation
SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that serves groups of impoverished women in India, is reportedly considering new business growth avenues in an attempt to increase revenue and improve its reputation. Along with collateral-free loans, four new products would be offered: loans using gold as collateral, housing loans, loans to buy mobile phones and loans to local grocery stores in a supply arrangement with the cash-and-carry chain, Metro. “The pilot projects have been yielding very encouraging results,” says Vikram Akula, chairperson and founder of SKS Microfinance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Cash Withdrawal Limit Expected to Impact Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently issued limits on daily cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate customers of NGN 150,000 (USD 962) and NGN 1 million (USD 6,417), respectively, effective June 1, 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Vision Microfinance Subsidiary, VisionFund Cuts Paper Annual Report, Announces Loan Portfolio of $341m in Electronic Formats Including IPhone App
VisionFund, the microfinance subsidiary of US-based Christian relief organization World Vision, has released its 2010 annual review. VisionFund has cut back the size of its paper report in favor of presenting its annual review in multiple mediums such as online and through Apple’s app store for access via iPhone.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroPlanet Technologies Announces Guatemalan Microfinance Institution (MFI) is First Customer for Hybrid Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Platform
MicroPlanet Technologies Incorporated, a US-based nonprofit that serves the technology needs of microfinance institutions (MFIs), has announced that Friendship Bridge, an MFI serving 13,000 women in Guatemala, is the first customer for its hybrid software-as-a-service (SaaS) core banking software platform.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) Announces New Policy Framework for Expansion of Microfinance Industry in Jordan
The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) in Jordan, with assistance from KfW, a German government-owned development bank, recently developed a new policy framework for the microfinance industry.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Making Cents International Hosts the 2011 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference in Washington, DC, September 7 – September 9, 2011
Event Name: 2011 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference
Event Date: September 7 – September 9, 2011
Event Location: the National Convention Center, Washington, DC
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reporting Tepid Growth, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Permits Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to Accept Gold as Collateral
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is reported to be permitting microfinance institutions (MFIs) to accept gold as collateral to secure microfinance loans. International: The News, a Pakistan-based news source, speculates that SBP has changed its stance on the issue in an effort to boost the issuance of loans following the floods that greatly affected Pakistan in 2010. In a circular reportedly issued to all MFIs in the country, SBP stated, “the negative growth [in 2010] was mainly due to the devastating floods during the third quarter of 2010 that gripped most parts of the country…Moreover, an overall difficult macroeconomic environment continues to challenge the credit growth of microfinance players” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF) Makes Loans Totaling $2.8m to Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), Thaneakea Phum Limited (TPC) of Cambodia and Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida), Tanaoba Lais Manekat Foundation (TLM) of Indonesia
responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has loaned the equivalent of USD 2.8 million to four microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia and Indonesia. responsAbility is an investment company based in Switzerland that invests in MFIs and other MIVs.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Rural and Microfinance in the Lower Mekong Region: Policies, Institutions, and Market Outcomes: by Binh T Nguyen, Robert Vogel; Published by Asian Development Bank (ADB)
By Binh T Nguyen and Robert Vogel, published by Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2011, 126 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.51104/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swiss Re to Assist International Finance Corporation (IFC) With Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) For West Africa
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (Swiss Re), a reinsurer and financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland, have partnered to further develop the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) [1]. Index insurance is a product that covers farmers against presumed crop failure based on measurable factors such as if rainfall is below a predetermined threshold. GIIF was launched by IFC in 2009 as a regional platform intended “to develop agricultural insurance systems in West African countries including Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso” [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR) Cautions Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Against “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach, Particularly in Rural Areas
The Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), an 84-member organization that was established in 2007 to build the capacity of the microfinance industry in Rwanda, has cautioned microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Rwanda regarding the risks of offering the same financial products to all clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru Passes Tax Exemption for Credit Unions, Other Cooperatives
The government of Peru recently passed legislation that recognizes the nonprofit status of credit unions and other cooperatives, exempting their transactions from a sales tax. La Federación Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito del Perú (FENACREP), a Peruvian member of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), has been working with a coalition of local advocacy groups to get the bill passed since its introduction to the legislature in December 2009. (No further information on the sales tax-exemption bill is available at the time this brief was published.) WOCCU is a US-based global trade association of credit unions.