by Samuel Allmendinger -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Global Mobile Money Adoption Survey, Eye Care for El Salvador’s “Base of the Pyramid,” Financial Needs in Rwanda

“State of the Industry: Results from the 2012 Mobile Money Adoption Survey;” by Claire Penicuad; published by Global System for Mobile Communications Association’s (GSMA’s) Mobile Money for the Unbanked program; 2012; 36 pages; available at http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MMU_State_of_industry.pdf

This report presents the results of the Global Mobile Money Adoption Survey, launched by GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked program “to allow mobile money service providers to benchmark their performance against their peers in the industry.”

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cooperative of Savings and Credit Duterimbere of Rwanda Requests Microfinance Institution Status

The Cooperative of Savings and Credit Duterimbere (COOPEDU), a nonprofit organization in Rwanda, is seeking to become recognized by the Central Bank of Rwanda as a microfinance institution (MFI) in an effort to increase its outreach and the range of financial services it provides to its members.

by Jennifer Young -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya May Give Microfinance Institutions Access to Credit Reference Bureau

The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), which promotes the interests of its 43 member banks, and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) are reportedly working on possible regulation changes that would allow microfinance institutions (MFIs) to access customer data at the country’s Credit Reference Bureau.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union Limited (UCSCU) May Defer Repayment Requirements After Fire Destroys Market

The Uganda Savings and Credit Union Limited (UCSCU), an umbrella body of 1,000 savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs), reportedly is considering concessionary moves in an effort to recover funds from a government-sponsored UGX 700 million (USD 284,000) loan that UCSCU on-lent to local vendors in Nakivubo Park Yard.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations (UN) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Provides $100m to Ethiopia for Rural Microfinance, Bridges to Traditional Banks

The United Nations (UN) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an organization working to alleviate rural poverty in developing nations, has pledged to provide USD 100 million to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme Phase II (RUFIP II).

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya to Allow Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institutions (DTMs) to Use Agents to Provide Financial Services

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya’s central banking authority, has reportedly issued guidelines allowing deposit-taking microfinance institutions (DTMs) to use agents to provide financial services in an effort to promote financial inclusion of the “unbanked and under-banked population” [1].

by Kristha Abores -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Invests in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Semilla Solidaria of Mexico; COMIXMUL of Honduras; CACMU of Ecuador; Sembrar Sartawi, IDEPRO of Bolivia

Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested an undisclosed amount of funds in five Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Semilla Solidaria (SemiSol) of Mexico, Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU) of Ecuador and Institución Financiera de Desarollo (IFD) Sembrar Sartawi and Instituto para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña Unidad Productiva (IDEPRO) both of Bolivia [1].

by Nisha Koul -

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].

by Phil Hughes -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya Requires Mobile Phone Carriers to Adopt Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

The Kenyan Ministry of Information (MOI), through the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), is newly requiring mobile phone firms to adopt new measures to protect their systems from improper access and to file related security audit reports on an annual basis.

by Phil Hughes -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) Incorporates Microfinance Programs as National Strategy to Achieve 80 Percent Access to Finance Target by 2017

The National Bank of Rwanda reportedly plans to leverage a savings and credit cooperative (SACCO) known as Umurenge, financial literacy campaigns and “Access to Finance” forums as part of its strategy to support the country in expanding access to finance to reach 80 percent of the population and reaching a target per capita income of at least USD 1,000 by 2017.

by Rohan Trivedi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Invests in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) COMIXMUL of Honduras, CACMU of Ecuador, Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia

Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that its funds have added three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs) to their portfolios; Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras; Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU) of Ecuador; and Institución Financiera de Desarrollo (IFD) Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia.

by Jacqueline Foelster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank Group Publish “Leveraging Migration for Africa: Remittances, Skills, and Investments” Report

African Development Bank (AfDB), a development finance institution that gives loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, and the World Bank Group, a Washington, DC-based group of five institutions with a shared mission to improve living standards for people in the developing world, have jointly published a report titled “Leveraging Migration for Africa: Remittances, Skills, and Investments.”

by Jacqueline Foelster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda Introduces Mobile Banks to Increase Access to Financial Services in Rural Areas

Urwego Opportunity Bank (OUB), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Rwanda, recently introduced mobile banks to address the lack of banking services for savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) and individuals in rural areas.

by Conner Brannen -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Plan for New Law to Regulate Microfinance Sector in Uganda Announced

A new law to regulate the microfinance sector in Uganda is expected before the reading of the 2010/2011 budget in June [1]. The plan was announced by Ruth Nankabirwa, the microfinance state minister at the third Financial Inclusion Advisors Conference recently hosted in the capital, Kampala. According to Ms. Nankabirwa, membership in the microfinance sector has grown from 644,318 in 2008 to 1,154,715 in 2009. A large proportion of funds within the sector are unregulated – there are over 1,340 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Uganda that are not regulated. Ms. Nankabirwa argues that regulating the microfinance sector will increase consumer confidence and encourage more people to use its services.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG BRIEF: Opportunity International Subsidiary, MicroEnsure, Partners with CARE to Launch Funeral Microinsurance Product

MicroEnsure and CARE have named the unplanned nature of a death in the family as one of the largest risks a family faces. To address this issue, they have jointly developed a low-cost funeral benefit product to distribute to village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) via community-based trainers (CBTs). CARE´s VSLAs are built by women living on less than USD 2 a day who pool savings into a common fund. CBTs will provide VSLAs with initial training on the basics of microinsurance and the benefits of the funeral product. VSLAs will then have to unanimously vote on whether or not they would like to purchase the product. MicroEnsure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, provides a range of products including health, life, property and weather index-based insurance to over 3.5 million people across 10 countries. CARE is a global NGO that has supported over 800 poverty alleviation projects in 72 countries to reach more than 59 million people.