The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Fundación Telefónica have recently presented a report on mobile communications and access to financial services in Latin America. The report is a result of a dialogue between public and private sector leaders, carried out through a series of workshops organized by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) – a division of the IDB – and Fundación Telefónica. The report analyses the level of development of mobile technologies and financial services in eight countries throughout Latin America and the Carribean. A copy of the report was still unavailable at the time of this release.
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MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “microLINKS Connections, March 2009,” by USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has released its March edition of microLINKS Connections. The monthly newsletter reports on the work of USAID and its partners in building microenterprises, summarizes research papers and resources on microfinance, and announces upcoming microfinance events. To subscribe to microLINKS Connects and for a complete version the March edition please refer to this link. Highlights from the March edition are as follows.
WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: A Little World
A Little World (ALW) is a company which creates technologies used in extending branchless banking services to the poor. While ALW is a for-profit corporation, its vision is to “touch a billion people through innovative technologies and alliances at the bottom of the pyramid for delivering multiple financial services at the lowest cost through mainstream financial institutions.” Currently, the company’s main project is the ZERO platform, which provides banking technologies via mobile phones.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Interactive Webcast on Mobile Banking
CGAP HOSTS INTERACTIVE WEBCAST ON MOBILE BANKING on OCTOBER 1
CGAP will host an interactive webcast 09:30-12:45 PM EST. CGAP will examine the business case and deployment options for smaller banks and microfinance institutions.
The agenda for the event will be as follows:
09:30 – 10:30
Why: The logic of branchless banking
How: Developing and managing branchless banking channels
11:00 – 12:30
For whom: choices for banks, operators’ role, customer adoption
The good, the bad, and the ugly of m-banking
To submit questions during or before the event, contact Jim Rosenberg (jrosenberg@worldbank.org).
To access the webcast on Wednesday, visit here.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Banking on Mobiles: Why, How, For Whom?
Written by Ignacio Mas, an adviser for CGAP’s Technology and Market Intelligence programs, and Kabir Kumar, a Microfinance Analyst working on CGAP’s Technology Program, published June 2008 as Focus Note Number 49, a CGAP paper series, 28 pages, available here.
PRESS RELEASE: CGAP Report on Mobile Banking Sees Potential to Reach Millions of Unbanked Poor
Source: CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).
NEWS WIRE: United States: Wharton’s “Microfinance Grows Up: Success Brings New Challenges for Investors, Practitioners in Emerging Economies”
Source: Knowledge@Wharton.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: New York Times Magazine Surmises Cell Phones Can Transform Developing World in Similar Vein as Microfinance
An article in the Apr. 13 issue of the New York Times Magazine examines the proliferation of cell phones in the developing world and their potential to profoundly impact the global economy in years to come. Significantly, the trend, like microfinance, is seen as a bottom-up approach to development, with the poor taking advantage of emerging opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Kenya’s Central Bank Reviews Legislation to Promote Banking in Rural Areas, Including Mobile Banking
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) vowed to review bank branch requirements so that banking services can further penetrate rural areas. In addition, CBK Governor, Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, said the revised rules should facilitate the establishment of branchless banking. Branchless banking involves banking services without a physical facility, including mobile vans providing banking and telephone-based services.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB) to Offer Customers Access to One-Link ATMs Throughout Pakistan
Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB), a commercial microfinance bank in Pakistan, has signed an agreement with One-Link, a Pakistani Automated Teller Machine (ATM) company, to enable TMFB customers to use 2,000 Onelink ATMs in 150 cities throughout Pakistan. The agreement was signed by President and CEO of TMFB Nadeem Hussain and CEO of Onelink Khayyam Mahmood Butt on behalf of their respective companies.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indian Financial Inclusion Firm, A.Little.World, Offers Mobile Microfinance Banking and Draws Big Investors: Enam Financial and Legatum Capital
Enam Financial, a leading Indian financial service provider, has picked up a ten percent stake in A.Little.World, a company which integrates a microfinance model with a new multi-bank payment system in order to bring mainstream banking capabilities to the large population of un-banked rural Indians. The amount of investment was not disclosed.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: NAMMS and RMC Present Sixth Annual National Conference “Microfinance in Russia: Building an All-Inclusive Financial System”
MICROFINANCE IN RUSSIA: BUILDING AN ALL-INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
NOVEMBER 15-17, 2007, MOSCOW, RUSSIA
The National Partnership of Microfinance Market Stakeholders (NAMMS), a non-profit partnership of individuals and organizations dedicated to microfinance proliferation, and the Russian Microfinance Center, a non-profit organization that promotes microfinance in Russia, jointly present “Microfinance in Russia: Building an All-Inclusive Financial System” to take place in Moscow, Russia, November 15-17, 2007.
NEWS WIRE: Nearly Half of Indians Financially Excluded
International Finance Corporation Provides USD 3.7 mn Loan with Advisory Services to Pakistan’s Tameer Microfinance Bank
International Finance Corporation (IFC) officially agreed to provide a substantial loan and advisory services to Tameer Microfinance Bank (Tameer) of Pakistan in their expansion effort. The long-term loan, disbursed in December 2006, adds up to USD 3.7 mn, is meant to support Tameer’s rapidly growing loan portfolio. The partnership will be supervised by the Private Enterprise Partnership for the Middle East and North Africa, IFC’s advisory services facility for the region. They will help Tameer find commercially viable ways to reach its client base and assess the demand for branchless banking in rural Pakistan.