CLSA Capital Partners, the alternative asset management arm of CLSA (Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia) Asia-Pacific Markets, has bought a minority stake in Equitas Micro Finance India Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI), for USD 24 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Developing a Framework to Regulate Microfinance Banking in the Country and Keep “Monsters” Out of the Industry
Joe Alegienu, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Director of Development Banking, said at a recent meeting with managers of the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP), that it is developing a framework to regulate microfinance institutions (MFIs) within Nigeria.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Bankakademie) Hosts Summer Academies in Germany July 2 – 30, 2010
Event Name: The Frankfurt School Summer Academies 2010
Event Date: July 2 to July 30, 2010
Event Location: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Bankakademie)
Event Website: http://www.frankfurt-school.de/content/en/intern_advisory/summer_academies
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) and American Banker Co-Host the Fifth Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum in Miami, USA, June 9 – 11, 2010
Event Name: Fifth Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum
Event Date: June 9 – June 11, 2010
Event Location: Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Miami, USA
Event Website: http://www.americanbanker.com/conferences/cfsi10/
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: USD 895 for non-profit, government and credit union executives, USD 1295 for bank and financial institution executives and USD 1695 for others. Best discounts for registration before April 9, discounts also available for registration before May 7.
Summary of Event: The Underbanked Financial Services Forum is a three-day event that will cover recent research, advances in product development, marketing strategies and risk management practices, as well as provide ample time for networking.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Chicago Microfinance Conference (CFMC), May 7, 2010, Hosted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Event Name: Chicago Microfinance Conference (CFMC)
Event Date: May 7, 2010
Event Location: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Event Website: http://www.chicagomicrofinance.com/index.shtml
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Munich Re Foundation Issues Call for Proposal for 6th Annual Microinsurance Conference
Munich Re Foundation, a private grant making foundation, has issued a call for proposals for its sixth annual microinsurance conference, which will take place in Manila, Philippines, on November 9 and November 10, 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Microenterprise and Development Institute (MDI) Moves to the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Program Renamed the Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP)
The Microenterprise and Development Institute (MDI), a US-based microfinance training program, has moved from Southern New Hampshire University to the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The program is now called the Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UAP Insurance of Kenya, Safaricom and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture to Expand Mobile Microinsurance Program in Kenya
A recent article in The Economist weekly magazine brings attention to the expansion of a new microinsurance scheme in Kenya, known as Kilimo Salama, or “safe farming,” which uses mobile phones and automated solar-power weather stations to provide crop insurance to low-income farmers.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Women and Income-Generating Activities: Understanding Motivations by Prioritising Skill, Knowledge and Capabilities, by Thanuja Mummidi
Written by Thanuja Mummidi, published by the Rural Microfinance and Employment project (RUME) in June 2009, 27 pages, available at: http://www.rume-rural-microfinance.org/IMG/pdf_WP5.pdf
This study examines a methodology for analyzing whether or not microfinance promotes income-generating activities amongst the poor, specifically focusing on women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Benchmarking Report on West Africa
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released the 2009 benchmarking report for the UEMOA (Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine), the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Senegal Struggle to Access Funding
The global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) recently reported that small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in Senegal are struggling to access funding.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Economist Magazine Publishes Article Citing Need for Microsavings Products
An article in The Economist weekly magazine titled, “Savings and the Poor: A Better Mattress,” examines the current market for microsavings products and argues for better technology and more flexible regulation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Experts Discuss Importance of Savings at Women’s World Banking (WWB) Microfinance and Capital Markets Conference
At the Women’s World Banking (WWB) Microfinance and Capital Markets conference on March 23 and March 24, Ms Elizabeth Littlefield, the Chief Executive of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) who has been nominated to head the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), declared “There’s a huge untapped pool of savings in poor households that’s desperate to be taken out from under the bed.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Asia Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released the 2009 Asia Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Enterprises Ministry of Indonesia Gives State-Owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), a Bank Specializing in Microfinance, Permission to Acquire Bank Agroniaga, a Bank Focused on the Agro-Business Sector
The State Enterprises Ministry of Indonesia has given permission for Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), a state-owned bank specializing in microfinance, to acquire Bank Agroniaga, a state-owned bank focused on the agro-business sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian BASIX Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (BSFL) Partners with Micro Home Solutions
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution that is a member of the BASIX Group, recently entered into a strategic partnership with Micro Home Solutions (MHS), a social enterprise based in India that provides housing to poor urban residents.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus, US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Citi Microfinance Finalize $15m Credit Facility for Microfinance Institutions
Unitus Inc., an international nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs); the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government agency that invests in international development projects; and Citi Microfinance, Citi’s organization that aims to support MFIs, recently finalized a USD 15 million credit facility that aims to help foster growth among MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Microinsurance Fund Raises Additional $65m in Commitments from International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW, Flagstone Reinsurance, and Soros Economic Development Fund
LeapFrog Investments, an international for-profit microinsurance fund, recently announced that it had raised an additional USD 65 million in commitments, bringing the fund’s total to USD 112 million.