by Jaime Fellers -

MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: “Youth’s Financial Inclusion Policy Reform Study;” by Yassir Ahmed Hassan Jamie; published by MDG Achievement Fund; Microfinance Unit, Central Bank of Sudan; United Nations Development Programme

By Yassir Ahmed Hassan Jamie, published by MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Achievement Fund; Microfinance Unit, Central Bank of Sudan; United Nations Development Programme, May 2012, 103 pages, available at http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.57618/Youth%20Financial%20Inclusion%20Policy%20Reform%20Study%20FINAL.pdf

by Amira Berrada -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Development Bank, UN’s AGFUND, Sudanese Government Fund Provide Capital of $5m to Microfinance Institution Al-Ebda’a

Al-Ebda’a, a Sudanese microfinance institution (MFI), was recently established with USD 5 million in capital.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Approves $10m Participation in Irada Microfinance Institution of Sudan

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), a financial institution in Saudi Arabia, recently approved an equity investment of USD 10 million in IRADA Microfinance Institution Project, Sudan (Irada).

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sudan’s Northern Darfur State Forms Higher Council of Microfinance

Osman Mohammed Yousif Kibir, governor of Sudan’s Northern Darfur state, has announced plans to create a Higher Council of Microfinance that will be tasked with: (1) creating strategies on developing microfinance; (2) establishing indicators of microfinance development; (3) preparing material to teach citizens how to use microfinance to improve the level of their family income; and (4) developing client protection policies.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) to Pay Salaries of New Graduates Employed in Microfinance Sector for Two Years

The Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) reportedly announced that for two years it will pay the salaries of up to 1,000 new graduates entering employment in the microfinance sector.

by Ashim Kar -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Second International Conference on Inclusive Islamic Financial Sector Development, Khartoum, Sudan, October 9 – October 11, 2011

Event Name: Second International Conference on Inclusive Islamic Financial Sector Development: Enhancing Financial Services for Regional Micro-enterprises

Event Date: October 9 – October 11, 2011

Event Location: Sudan Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (SABFS), Khartoum, Sudan

by Julie Moksim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Donors, USAID Partner for Development of South Sudan Private Sector

The government of South Sudan and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently launched a program to develop South Sudan’s private sector with USD 9 million in funding from donors that include the governments of Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States.

by Trevor Kwong -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF:Chairman of Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan Warns of Opacity in Donor Funding

Vincent Olweny Oywak, chairman of the Microfinance Association of Southern Sudan (MASS), a coalition of six microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in southern Sudan, recently complained about the opacity of foreign donor funding to microfinance institutions in Sudan.

by Conner Brannen -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Southern Sudan Holds Microfinance Conference with Sponsorship from United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

With sponsorship from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, Southern Sudan recently held what was billed as its first microfinance conference. The aim of the conference, which was held in the regional capital of Juba, was to provide a forum for stakeholders to exchange views about the status of microfinance in Southern Sudan and to develop a strategy to improve microfinance in the region.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arab Gulf Program for United National Development Organizations (AGFUND) Unveils Plans to Open Microfinance Banks in Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan

The Arab Gulf Program for United National Development Organizations (AGFUND), a regional non-profit development institution, recently announced that it will establish microfinance banks in Jordan, Lebanon, and Sudan within the next few months.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Southern Sudan Microfinance Development Facility (SSMDF) Provides $92k to Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI), a Microfinance Institution (MFI), for Technical Assistance and On-Lending

The Southern Sudan Microfinance Development Facility (SSMDF), a microfinance investment facility supported by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Government of Southern Sudan, will provide funding of SDG 214,290, the equivalent of USD 92,565, to the Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Southern Sudan, over a period of three years.

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Government of Sudan Issues Directives Requiring Banks to Allocate 12 Percent of Portfolio to Microfinance

According to the Sudan Vision Daily, The Central Bank of Sudan(CBOS) has issued a circular note detailing directives regarding microfinance to Sudanese Banks.  A copy of the circular was not available for this report.  As part of its 2009 Central Bank Policy the CBOS has encouraged the development of microfinance aimed at social needs such as housing and agriculture, as well as the deepening of Islamic banking.