During the opening day of European Microfinance Week today, roughly 75 members and potential members of the Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group met in-person in Luxembourg – and remotely – to discuss strategies for increasing access to finance that helps people with low incomes to adjust to and reduce climate change. Co-chair Natalia Realpe Carrillo argued, “This is not something extra; this responsible finance!” She went on to describe the Action Group’s work to: publish a glossary of terms for those just getting started in green lending; offer seven related training modules; continue an ongoing webinar series, which is also available on-demand; publish
Category: Client Protection
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Remote Coaching to Prevent Dormancy Among Low-income Savers,” by Scott Graham et al, Published by WSBI
This report addresses the phenomenon of “dormancy” in the savings accounts of new owners of financial accounts, whereby the newly established accounts go unused after initial deposits are complete. The authors describe the use of coaching – via phone calls and SMS messages – to increase
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 19th Inclusive Finance India Summit; January 17-18, 2023; New Delhi, India
This event is intended to advance dialogue on the challenges associated with financial inclusion. Although the agenda has not been released to date, last year’s iteration of the summit featured sessions including
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A Brief Introduction to WASH for Impact Investors;” by Joana Afonso, Sachin Kumar, Alvaro Ma; Published by e-MFP, Aqua for All
This report on funding water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cites the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation – as well as data indicating 3.6 billion people worldwide have limited access to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Coop TLM Borrows $1.3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance in Indonesia
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has reported disbursing a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 1.3 million to Coop TLM, a nonprofit microfinance institution in Indonesia. Established in 2010 by the Tanaoba Lais Manekat (TLM) Foundation and headquartered in the city of Kota Kupang, Coop TLM seeks
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Impact Radar,” Published by UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative
The authors of this report offer a taxonomy to help measure the positive and negative impacts of the products and services of financial institutions, with the aim of enabling these institutions to build a better understanding of various elements of sustainable development. The “impact radar” includes a range of “impact areas” and constituent
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Themed “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” Financial Inclusion Week 2022 Offers 180 Virtual Sessions, October 17-20
For the eighth year, the Center for Financial Inclusion, a program of the US-based NGO Accion, is organizing Financial Inclusion Week, an opportunity for all stakeholders to attend virtual sessions – both live and on-demand – at no charge. The theme for 2022 is “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” with sessions covering 14 topics such as Climate Change, Client Protection,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MEDA Convention: Celebrating Entrepreneurship; November 2-6, 2022; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
With the aim of advancing the success of entrepreneurs, this event offers plenary sessions such as: (1) Revolutionizing Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Bridging the Finance Gap for Women Entrepreneurs; and (2) Food Security: Addressing the Risks in Our Global Food Systems and What It Means for Entrepreneurs. On November 5, the MEDAx Pitch Competition offers prizes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Strengthening Financial, Training Technology in Lower-income Countries in Partnership with Krach Family Foundation, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy
Opportunity International, a US-based NGO, recently moved to strengthen the technology it uses to provide microfinance and other services in 30 countries. The goal is to help people with low incomes “make their businesses more scalable and efficient” through better access to market information, financial education, business training and financial services. These services can take the form of smartphone apps, cloud services, digital forms of identification and others. An element of achieving these goals is to boost users’ – and potential users’ – confidence in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer on “Gender-smart” Business Practices
For the latest on Pro Mujer, please refer to https://www.microcapital.org/?s=%22pro+mujer%22.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cambodia Microfinance Association, Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), Partner on Consumer Protection
Two NGOs, the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and the US-based Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), recently agreed to create a plan to foster “responsible growth, financial stability and customer protection in Cambodia’s microfinance and broader financial sector.” Elements of the plan include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New Flexibility for NBFC-MFIs in India Includes Lifting Interest Ceiling on Microfinance Loans
Non-banking financial company-microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) in India may set their own interest rates freely now that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has repealed the ceilings that previously applied to microlending rates. In the interest of client protection, however, lenders may no longer charge a penalty fee in cases of prepayment, and client repayments may not exceed half of household income. Meanwhile,