MICROCAPITAL EVENT: European Microfinance Platform Hosts European Microfinance Week 2010, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg, November 30 to December 1

Event Name: European Microfinance Week 2010

Event Date: November 30 – December 1, 2010

Event Location: Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Government Finalizes Debt-Swap Scheme, Ordinance to Counter Coercive Practices of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

The Cabinet of the Indian government has hammered out a debt-swap scheme to relieve self-help groups troubled by high interest rates charged on microloans and has approved a draft of an ordinance intended to end coercive collections practices by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), Munich Re, GTZ Partner to Create Microinsurance Product in the Philippines

Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS) of the Philippines; Munich Re, a reinsurance company established in 1880 in Munich; and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ), a federally-owned development organization in Germany, are coming together to create a microinsurance product to protect microfinance loan portfolios in the Philippines that experience losses due to extreme weather.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Find Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG) Grants Label to Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs) KCD-Mikrofinanzfonds I Global, KCD Mikrofinanz Fonds II Latin America, Finethic Microfinance SCA, Triodos SICAV II and Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund

The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an independent organization that certifies that microfinance vehicles (MIVs) actually invest in the microfinance sector, announced that it has granted the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label to five MIVs: KCD-Mikrofinanzfonds I Global and KCD Mikrofinanzfonds II Latin America of Luxembourg; Finethic Microfinance SCA of Switzerland; Triodos SICAV II (Triodos Microfinance Fund) of the Netherlands and Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund of Luxembourg.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swaminathan Aiyar Defends Interest Rates Charged by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in India, Suggests Dividend Cap Over Rate Cap

A column recently published on the website of the Economic Times newspaper argues that interest rates charged by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India should not be capped by the government.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citi Foundation to Examine Possibility of Microfinance Programs in Hong Kong

The Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of global financial services provider Citigroup, has reportedly partnered with Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, a charitable organization in Hong Kong that was established in 1870, to study whether a microfinance program would be feasible in Hong Kong.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Report Examines Challenges to Spreading Housing Finance in South Asia Through Microfinance

The World Bank Group’s “Expanding Housing Finance to the Underserved in South Asia” report aims to turn the spotlight on the lack of housing finance in South Asia and discusses the challenges of such finance in relation to microfinance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bhagwan Chowdhry Starts “Financial Access @ Birth” Campaign With Support From The Center for Financial Inclusion to Relieve Global Poverty Through Microsavings

Dr Bhagwan Chowdhry, professor of finance and faculty director at UCLA Anderson School of Management [2], has begun a campaign to increase financial inclusion and relieve poverty through microsavings.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Economist Intelligence Unit “Microscope” Study Discusses Challenges to The Rapidly Growing Microfinance Industry

A study from The Economist Intelligence Unit, publisher of The Economist magazine reports that microfinance is increasingly gaining global recognition as a viable business model, whereby technology in particular is allowing for growth in lending and other financial services for the world’s low-income microentrepreneurs.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Labels IPO of Indian Microfinance Institution SKS “A Critical Transition”

A paper recently published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) discusses how initial public offerings (IPOs) can shape the microfinance industry.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bandhan Financial Services of India to Provide Wholesale Loans to Smaller Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kolkata, India, recently announced that it is considering providing credit to smaller MFIs, in addition to lending directly to low-income groups.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Khan and Nizami Argue Adopting Consumer Protection Principles Strategic for Microfinance Institutions

An article by Fehmeen Ahmed Khan, the founder of the Microfinance Hub Blog, and Saman Nizami, a finance consultant, recently appeared on the Microfinance Focus website arguing the business case for urging microfinance institutions (MFIs) to embrace consumer protection principles.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trickle Up, Provider of Grants, Microfinance, Training, Announces Release of Documentary Film “The Test of Poverty”

Trickle Up, an international poverty alleviation organization based in the US, has announced the release of its documentary film, “The Test of Poverty,” which covers poverty’s effects on those living on less than USD 1.25 a day and the services that can help alleviate those effects.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Study: Microfinance Lending in Latin America and the Caribbean Increased by 13 Percent in 2009

According to a survey conducted by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an investment fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), loan portfolios of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 13 percent in 2009.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hatton National Bank (HNB) of Sri Lanka Reportedly Increases Impact Through “Village Awakening” Microfinance Program

Hatton National Bank (HNB), a private commercial bank in Sri Lanka, has reportedly reached the milestone of serving 100,000 microentrepreneurs as a result of its “Gami Pubudwa” (Village Awakening) program whereby bankers, known as “barefoot bankers,” regularly interact with the rural population to educate individuals on banking and microfinance services and to create a more welcoming environment for potential borrowers.