Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, an Italian foundation, is accepting applications for its Microfinance Best Practices International Award 2011. The award aims to increase the understanding of microfinance as a tool to fight poverty and social exclusion and to encourage microfinance practitioners to share successful practices. The focus of the award for 2011 is “transparency, client protection and social impact.”
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Microfinance Blog Explores Effects of Arab Upheaval on Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
CGAP Microfinance Blog, operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), recently posted an article by Mohammed Khaled, a CGAP representative for the Middle East-North Africa Region, that explores the implications for microfinance institutions (MFIs) of the recent wave of demonstrations and resulting leadership changes that have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr Khaled says that while it “could be too early to analyze the impact of recent events in the Arab world on microfinance, one can conclude some general and common lessons despite differences among countries” [1]. Mr Khaled argues that the following areas are of the utmost importance: emergency plans, strategic partnerships with clients, internal control systems and job creation [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Wins Tageblatt Award For Social Business Model At Luxembourg Fund Awards
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, was recently awarded the Tageblatt Award of the Luxembourg Fund Awards for its contribution to socioeconomic development in Southeast Europe and the Caucasus region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility of Switzerland Loans $11m to ProCredit Georgia, Frontiers of Kyrgyz Republic, AgroInvest Holding of Montenegro, Sathapana of Cambodia
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it loaned the equivalent of USD 11 million to microfinance organizations in Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Montenegro and Cambodia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments of Switzerland Loans $15m to FINCA International Subsidiaries in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested USD 15 million in debt in FINCA International subsidiaries in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. FINCA International is a global microfinance network operating in 21 countries reporting total assets of USD 467 million as of 2009 [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Government Proposes Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill Include NBFCs, Andhra Pradesh Considers Non-Banking Financing Company (NBFC) Model to Balance Microfinance Institutions (MFI)
The Indian federal government has proposed changes to the Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) bill to cover all types of microfinance institutions (MFIs), including non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) operating in the microfinance sector [2]. The Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) bill, which was first passed in 2007, covers only MFIs not overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank [2]. RBI regulates banks and most NBFCs. This leaves NBFCs operating in the microfinance sector outside of the purview of both RBI and the Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) bill [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Promote Energy Efficiency in Poland Through $21m Loan to BZ WBK Finance & Leasing
In its effort to boost energy efficiency in Eastern Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently loaned EUR 15 million (USD 21.6 million) to BZ WBK Finance & Leasing, a subsidiary of Polish leasing company Bank Zachodni WBK, that provides medium- and long-term leasing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tutunska Banka Joins International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) to Support Small Enterprises in Macedonia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently announced that Tutunska Banka, a commercial bank based in the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, joined its Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), which guarantees the trade-related payment obligations of approved financial institutions. By joining the program, Tutunska Banka looks to meet the trade finance demands of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Intellecap Presents Sankalp 2011: Social Enterprise & Investment Forum in Mumbai, India, May 5 – May 6, 2011
Event Name: Sankalp 2011: Social Enterprise & Investment Forum
Event Date: May 5 – May 6, 2011
Event Location: Mumbai, India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Network Sa-Dhan Introduces Code of Ethics
Sa-Dhan, a microfinance network with 251 member organizations in India, has introduced a code of conduct in an effort to ensure borrowers are treated in an ethical way. The code, which was developed through consultation with microfinance institutions (MFIs), government representatives and a range of other stakeholders, consists of ten components: integrity & ethical behavior, transparency, fair practice, assessing need for financial services, appropriate interaction & collection practices, privacy of client data, governance, client education & financial literacy, competition, and feedback & grievance mechanisms [1]. The code of conduct also outlines the role of policy makers and the steps required for implementation including: the collection of data; analysis; capacity building workshops; enforcement; and integration with policies, training and MFI implementation [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $21m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) ProCredit Bank Bulgaria
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, recently loaned USD 21.2 million in two segments to ProCredit Bank Bulgaria, a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides financing to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) Subscribe to Convertible Bonds Issued by Azerbaijan’s Unibank, Provider of Microfinance and Traditional Banking
European development finance institutions, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), have subscribed to convertible bonds issued by Unibank, a private commercial bank in Azerbaijan that provides microfinance and other services. EBRD has purchased USD 17.5 million in convertible bonds and DEG has committed to purchasing bonds worth USD 7.5 million [1]. The convertible bond facility was designed to support Unibank’s capital base as well as to provide long-term liquidity for continued lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and retail customers. The terms of the convertible bonds have not been reported.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission (EC) Accepting Applications to Establish “European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs”
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), is accepting applications for organizations to set up the European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC) Promote Lending Against Crop Receipts in Russia, Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral finance institution based in London, and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, are working together to promote lending against crop receipts of Russian and Ukrainian farmers in an effort to increase investment in agribusiness operations by allowing farm owners to use future harvests as collateral when applying for loans [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution AccessBank of Azerbaijan Receives First $10m Tranche of $20m Loan From Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB)
AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Azerbaijan, has received the first tranche of USD 10 million as part of a USD 20 million syndicated loan from Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote developing economies, and Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of Austria. The three-year syndicated loan was organized by FMO with participation from OeEB, with each institution contributing USD 10 million. The loan will be directed to financing micro- and small businesses in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Makes Debt Investments Worth $7.5m in FINCA Kyrgyzstan, Mol Bulak of Kyrgyzstan, Constanta of Georgia, BZMF of Kosovo, GafGaz Leasing of Azerbaijan
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it invested the equivalent of USD 7.5 million in microfinance organizations in Kosovo and Central Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission’s “European Progress Microfinance Facility” Looks to Ease Access to Credit for Small-business, Signs Agreement with Mikrofond AD of Bulgaria
The European Progress Microfinance Facility, which seeks to enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) within the European Union (EU) to increase lending to entrepreneurs by issuing guarantees, loans and equity financing to MFIs, has signed an agreement to supply Bulgarian MFI Mikrofond AD with an undisclosed amount of funding [1]. Mikrofond AD was established in 1999 with the goal of financing Bulgarian entrepreneurs who do not have access to the traditional banking system. As of 2010, Mikrofond reports 10 branches and having disbursed 9,000 loans with a total value of BGN 57 million (USD 41.3 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Shahid Khandker, Hassan Zaman Argue that Microfinance Has Advanced Bangladesh But Can Not Eliminate Poverty in Any Country
Shahid Khandker and Hassan Zaman, senior economists at the World Bank, recently reviewed published studies such as The World Bank’s 2008 Poverty Assessment and the records of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), a government-backed microfinance funder, an effort to determine the role that microfinance has played in the economic development of Bangladesh since the 1970s.