MICROFINANCE EVENT: Red Centroamericana de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF) Hosts the Fifth Central American Microfinance Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, August 25 to August 27, 2010

Event Name: V Central American Microfinance Conference ‘Crisis: Lessons Learned and New Strategies’

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases “2009 Africa Microfinance Analysis & Benchmarking Report” in French

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has recently released a new version of the “2009 Africa Microfinance Analysis & Benchmarking Report” in French, which covers information on 195 African microfinance institutions (MFIs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ministry of Investment in Egypt Releases Set of New Laws and Amendments for Nonbanking Financial Services Including Microfinance and Services for SMEs

The Ministry of Investment in Egypt has prepared a set of new laws and amendments to develop and modernize nonbanking financial services with a focus on serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ministry has released eight draft laws that deal with “managing business procedures for public and private companies, licensing, mortgage finance, private insurance funds and voluntary pensions companies, healthcare firms, financial leasing and movable property registry.” The new laws will also establish rules and conditions for licensing microfinance companies, as well as companies working in financial leasing.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Proposes Regulation for Securitizations by Microfinance Institutions

The Reserve Bank of India, India’s central banking authority, recently proposed new regulations for securitizations by non-bank finance institutions, which includes microfinance institutions (MFIs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN Attempts to Alleviate Food Crisis, Expands Agriculture Inventory Credit System in Niger and Elsewhere in West Africa

The UN (United Nations) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is implementing nine projects worth almost USD 18 million in Niger to support farmers experiencing prolonged drought in West Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IFC Capitalization Fund Agree to Invest $140m in Bank South Pacific (BSP) of Papua New Guinea to Extend Financial Services in Pacific Islands

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the IFC Capitalization Fund, a USD 3 billion global equity and subordinated debt fund, have signed an agreement to invest USD 140 million in Bank South Pacific (BSP), one of the largest commercial banks in Papua New Guinea, in an effort to expand financial services across the Pacific Islands.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: XIII FOROMIC 2010: Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise, October 6 to 8, 2010, Montevideo, Uruguay, Sponsored by the Multilateral Investment Fund, Organized by the Inter-American Development Bank

Event Name: XIII FOROMIC 2010: Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise

Event Date: October 6 to 8, 2010

Event Location: Montevideo, Uruguay

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Africa Capital and Business Support Invests $39m in Integrated Microfinance Bank Limited From $400m Mainsail Trading Limited Facility

In connection with a USD 400 million debt facility received from Mainsail Trading Limited, an investment company based in Dubai, and guaranteed by Suisse Bank Plc, a British private bank, Africa Capital and Business Support Limited (ACBS), a Nigerian financial intermediary, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Integrated Microfinance Bank Limited (IMFB) for an injection of NGN 6 billion (USD 39 million).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microloan Default Risk Rises in India as SKS Microfinance Plans Initial Public Offering (IPO)

A trend in initial public offerings (IPOs) by microfinance institutions in India could potentially increase the risk of defaults by microborrowers. SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution, has recently filed to raise up to USD 250 million in an initial public offering (IPO), as initially reported by MicroCapital on March 9, 2010. This pending IPO is causing concern that an IPO trend in India could trigger a trend in microfinance institutions’ (MFIs’) funding sources, as reported by MicroCapital on June 16, 2010, which could raise the risk of loan defaults by pressuring MFIs to disburse riskier microloans.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Second Annual Unitus-Hewitt Compensation And Benefits Survey of Indian Microfinance Institutions Demonstrates Salary Stability

The Unitus-Hewitt Compensation And Benefits Survey, released in early June, has demonstrated stability in the microfinance industry during the 2009 economic crisis. The study examined cash and non-cash benefits at 15 microfinance institutions (MFIs) representing 10 million clients across India. The study was jointly executed by Unitus Inc., an international nonprofit providing funding and consulting services to MFIs, and Hewitt Associates, an international human resources consulting firm.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Arab Microfinance Report with Focus On Microfinance Sector Crisis in Morocco

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has partnered up with Sanabel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Arab microfinance [1], and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group [2], to release the Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report for 2009 [3].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds Disperses Total of $3.2m to Microfinance Banks Inecobank of Armenia, AFK of Kosovo, Lazika Capital of Georgia and Coomuldesa of Colombia

The responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds, a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) founded in 2007, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling USD 3.2 million in four microfinance banks. The largest amount, USD 1.5 million, went to Inecobank, an Armenian bank founded in 1996 with a gross loan portfolio of USD 91.7 million [1]. The MIV reports total assets of USD 108.5 million as of 2009, and is one of four funds operated by responsAbility, the others being responsAbility Base of the Pyramid, responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund and responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: The Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Association of Microfinance Organizations of Kazakhstan (AMFOK) Co-host the 2010 Microfinance Centre (MFC) Annual Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, May 26 – May 28, 2010

Event Name: 2010 MFC Annual Conference – Post-Crisis Microfinance: What Is the Responsible Way Forward?

Event Date: May 26 – May 28, 2010

Event Location: Ramada Plaza Astana, Astana, Kazakhstan

Event Website: http://www.mfc.org.pl/conference2010/

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

MICROFINANCE EVENT: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Speaker’s Corner on Microfinance and Energy to Be Hosted Online From May 11 to May 13, 2010

Event Name: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Speaker’s Corner 37: Microfinance and Energy: Scaling Up Energy Access Through Enterprise-Based Approaches and Innovative Financing

Event Date: May 11 to May 13, 2010

Event Location: Online forum

Event Website: http://microlinks.kdid.org/events/speakers-corner-37-microfinance-and-energy-scaling-energy-access-through-enterprise-based-app

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Cost: Free

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Outlook for Remittance Flows 2010-2011, by Dilip Ratha, Sanket Mohapatra, and Ani Silwal

Written by Dilip Ratha, Sanket Mohapatra, and Ani Silwal, published by The Migration and Remittances Team of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group (DECPG) in April 2010, 18 pages, available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1110315015165/MigrationAndDevelopmentBrief12.pdf

The Migration and Remittances Team of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group (DECPG), an organization providing information and analysis on global economic trends, has published a paper entitled “Outlook for Remittance Flows 2010-2011.”

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: All Eyes on Asset Quality: Microfinance Global Valuation Survey 2010 Published by CGAP, Written by Xavier Reille, Christoph Kneiding, Daniel Rozas, Nick O’Donohoe and Frederic Rozeira de Mariz

Written by Xavier Reille, Christoph Kneiding, Daniel Rozas, Nick O’Donohoe and Frederic Rozeira de Mariz, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), March 2010, 40 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.42531/OP16R.pdf

The authors of the paper aim to provide the investor community with benchmarks for the valuation of microfinance assets using two datasets, one being a sample of 200 private equity transactions between 2005 and 2009, the other being data on eight publicly listed low-income financial institutions (LIFIs).

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Investing into Microfinance Investment Funds, by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská

Written by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská, published by the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University in Prague, 2009, 35 pages, available at:

http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.41460/Investing%20into%20Microfinance%20Investment%20Funds.pdf

This paper aims to measure the performance of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) in terms of risk and returns to investors.

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.”