by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Overcoming Barriers to Agricultural Microfinance

At European Microfinance Week, which is hosted by Luxembourg’s 140-member European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), Daniela Rottger, a consultant to German development finance institution Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), spoke Wednesday about her study of the agricultural lending products offered by several African banks and microlenders.

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Women Microfinance Clients Often Save More, Are More Loyal to Lenders

At today’s session on gender at European Microfinance Week in Luxembourg, panelists eschewed the idea that lenders have a moral obligation to serve a greater proportion of women. Instead, Anne-Marie Chidzero of South Africa and Anna Gincherman of the US-based Women’s World Banking (WWB) network both argued strenuously that lenders are leaving money on the table by failing to reach out to women.

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nine Indian Impact Investment Companies Forming “Indian Impact Investor Council”

Nine companies that specialize in impact investment reportedly will be establishing the “Indian Impact Investor Council” (IIIC) to establish guidelines helping investment companies in India regulate their efforts to meet social goals.

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Incorporated (ASKI) of the Philippines Takes $127k European Microfinance Award for Innovation in Food Security

The fourth European Microfinance Award, which focused this year on food security, has been awarded to Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Incorporated (ASKI) of the Philippines for its work serving people in rural areas with traditional financial services as well as community development efforts. Executive Director Rolando Victoria of ASKI, who is pictured at the right, stated that, “The motivation at the time [of our founding] was credit…. Now we were able to install a hanging bridge…linking farmers to markets.” Another way that ASKI has assisted its clients is by linking groups of customers with major buyers. A signature achievement was working with government partners to connect small-scale growers of onions and cassava with fast-food restaurant chain Jollibee Foods Corporation, which reported sales of PHP 44 billion (USD 1 billion) during the year ending June 2012. Mr Victoria reported that one of the challenges ASKI had to overcome was convincing farmers of the value of having a guaranteed customer with a price set in advance, even if market prices might turn out to be higher after the harvest. The award was presented as part of European Microfinance Week, which closes in Luxembourg on November 16.

by Mihaela Grindeanu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Partners with Planet Rating, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India to Improve Pricing Transparency

MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), recently partnered with Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency that is a member of the France-based PlaNet Finance Group, and Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of microlenders in India.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), SANASA Insurance to Provide Microinsurance to Farmers in Sri Lanka

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has partnered with Sri Lankan microinsurance company SANASA (Thrift, Credit and Cooperative Society in Sinhala) Insurance to “develop flexible, affordable, weather-based agricultural insurance products in Sri Lanka to minimize the impact of crop losses due to floods or droughts.”

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RBI Wants Microfinance Institution Deposit-Taking Cut From Micro Financial Sector Bill

Deputy Governor Anand Sinha of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, reportedly announced in a budget speech that RBI does not support allowing microfinance institutions (MFIs) to take deposits from clients.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bamboo Finance, ZS Associates Co-Founder Invest $4m in Equity in Greenlight Planet to Boost Research, Distribution Network of LED Lamps in Rural India

Bamboo Finance, a Switzerland-based investment firm, and Dr PK Sinha, co-founder of US-based consulting firm ZS Associates, recently invested a total of INR 206 million (USD 4 million) in equity in Greenlight Planet, an Indian company that aims to provide “low-cost” energy products to low-income households in emerging markets.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen America to Open Additional Branches in California, Michigan and Nebraska

Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, has reportedly announced that Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) based in the US state of New York City, will open additional branches in California, Michigan and Nebraska.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s National Treasury Releases Policy Document, “The South African Microinsurance Regulatory Framework,” to Address Access to Insurance, Consumer Protection for Low-Income Households

In a recent press release, the National Treasury of the Republic of South Africa, the body responsible for managing government finances, released a policy document titled, “The South African Microinsurance Regulatory Framework,” to address the “challenges to improve access to insurance and consumer protection for the lower income families in the country” [1].

by Carol Kim -

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.

by Julia Korn -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Saija Finance Private Limited Addresses Shortage of Microfinance in Bihar, India

Since 2008 Saija Finance Private Limited, a nonbanking finance company with total assets of INR 11 million (equivalent to USD 240,000), has been providing microfinance services in the Indian state of Bihar, which according to a report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has a credit-demand supply gap of 96 percent.

by Jennifer Shevock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microloan Default Risk Rises in India as SKS Microfinance Plans Initial Public Offering (IPO)

A trend in initial public offerings (IPOs) by microfinance institutions in India could potentially increase the risk of defaults by microborrowers. SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution, has recently filed to raise up to USD 250 million in an initial public offering (IPO), as initially reported by MicroCapital on March 9, 2010. This pending IPO is causing concern that an IPO trend in India could trigger a trend in microfinance institutions’ (MFIs’) funding sources, as reported by MicroCapital on June 16, 2010, which could raise the risk of loan defaults by pressuring MFIs to disburse riskier microloans.

by Julia Korn -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fullerton India Credit Company (FICC) to Add Microfinance Services To Its Repertoire

Fullerton India Credit Company Limited (FICCL), a non-banking finance company (NBFC) in India [1], is adding microfinance services to its repertoire [2]. Its parent company, Angelica Investment Limited, is located in Singapore [2], yet the company chose India as its first market for microfinance because of the country’s large underserved population.