Three providers of institutional, performance and social ratings of microfinance institutions (MFIs), MicroFinanza Rating of Italy, US-based MicroRate and French Planet Rating, recently signed the Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Larry Reed to Succeed Sam Daley-Harris as Director of Microcredit Summit Campaign
The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a program of US-based advocacy group RESULTS Educational Fund, has announced that Mr Larry Reed will be the new director of the program beginning in 2012 when the current director and founder Mr Sam Daley-Harris steps down at the end of 2011 [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Technology Innovation for Banks in Growth Economies, London, United Kingdom, November 29 – November 30, 2011
Event Name: Technology Innovation for Banks in Growth Economies
Event Date: November 29 – November 30, 2011
Event Location: Kingsway Hall Hotel, 66 Great West Queen Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Bank Issues Guidelines on Mobile Microfinance
Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of Bangladesh, has released a set of guidelines on mobile financial services in an effort to enable the banking network to reach unbanked segments of the population in a reliable manner and at low cost.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Focus Note Distributed at Fifth African Microcredit Conference Lauds Morocco as a “Microcredit Champion,” Contrary to Past Reports Expressing Concern
At the recently concluded Fifth African Microcredit Conference, which was held in Ethiopia, a focus note reportedly commended the Moroccan microcredit sector, remarking that from 2003 to 2007 microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) loan portfolio “multiplied 11 times and client outreach by four” in the country [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance: Is There Really a Crisis? Webinar on October 4, 2011, Organized by LocalVoice4Development
Event Name: Microfinance: Is There Really a Crisis?
Event Date: 9 AM, Eastern US time, October 4, 2011
Event Location: Webinar
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure to Offer Microinsurance in Kenya Using M-Pesa, FrontlineSMS:Credit Technology
The Kenyan office of MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, is employing M-Pesa, a mobile money service in Kenya, and FrontlineSMS:Credit, a nonprofit software provider specializing in mobile financial services, to offer microinsurance policies independent of savings and credit groups.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Two Papers Released by Microfinance Information Exchange Discuss Impacts of Financial Crises, Reporting Requirements
The US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released two papers that offer insight into different issues faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Innovation Center for Resources and Alternatives (MICRA) of Philippines to Join Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders Alliance, Organize Volunteer Consultants Working with Microfinance Institutions
Bankers without Borders (BwB) Alliance, a volunteer initiative of the US-based nonprofit Grameen Foundation, recently announced that Microfinance Innovation Center for Resources and Alternatives (MICRA), a microfinance consulting and advisory firm in the Philippines, will become the fifth member of the alliance [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Panelists at Toronto International Microfinance Summit 2011 Discuss Interest Rate Pricing, Technological Solutions, Commercial and Philanthropic Funding
In a presentation at the recent Toronto International Microfinance Summit, panelists weighed in on a range of current topics in the microfinance sector, including profitability, the effect of commercial investment and advances in technology.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Launches Interactive “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor” With Funding From Canada’s MasterCard Foundation
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) a US-based nonprofit organization that publishes financial and social performance information from microfinance stakeholders, recently launched the “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor,” an interactive tool that shows country-specific microfinance information in the context of socioeconomic indicators.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Microfinance Transparency (AMT) 2011 Investor’s Fair in Accra, Ghana, October 13 – 14
Event Name: The 2011 Investor’s Fair
Event Date: October 13 – October 14, 2011
Event Location: Hotel Alisa, Accra, Ghana
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Money Global Summit and Expo, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 31 – November 3, 2011
Event Name: Mobile Money Global Summit and Expo, 2011
Event Date: October 31 – November 3, 2011
Event Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cloud Computing and Financial Services for The Poor: Promise and Perils of a New Computing Paradigm in Washington DC, USA, and Online, September 16, 2011
Event Name: Cloud Computing and Financial Services for The Poor: Promise and Perils of a New Computing Paradigm
Event Date: September 16, 2011; 9:00 am – 10:30 am EDT
Event Location: QED Group, 1250 Eye Street, NW 11th Floor, Washington DC, USA or online
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) Annual Report Covers Partnership with Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
The Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), an initiative established in 2006 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), recently outlined in its annual report its efforts to “encourage private sector led sustainable economic growth” in developing countries in the Pacific by “improving access to financial services, updating business laws and upgrading the delivery of services by state-owned enterprises (SOEs).”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Karnataka Microfinance Institutions Releases Client Survey Data from “Competition and the Role of External Agents: The 2009 Delinquency Crisis in Southern Karnataka” by CGAP, EDA Rural Systems
The Association of Karnataka Microfinance Institutions (AKMI), a community development organization in the rural Indian state of Karnataka, recently made public the client survey data from “Competition and the Role of External Agents: The 2009 delinquency crisis in southern Karnataka,” a study released in 2010 that was conducted by US-based nonprofit CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and EDA Rural Systems, an India-based research and capacity building organization.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vijay Mahajan of Microfinance Firm BASIX Says Firm to Explore Foreign Investors if Domestic Banks Refuse to Lend
Mr Vijay Mahajan, chairman of BASIX Group, an Indian company whose holdings include two microfinance institutions (MFIs), has reportedly announced that if the company does not get a capital infusion of INR 450 crores (USD 98 million) by end of September from domestic sources, it will have to explore partnering with foreign investors [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Forbes, Nicole Skibola Explores Opportunities, Challenges for Insurance Industry in offering Microinsurance
Nicole Skibola, of Australian-US firm Apricot Consulting, recently published an article on the website of US-based Forbes magazine, discussing how some insurance companies are “reconfiguring the value chain to create shared social and economic values” through offering microinsurance to underserved consumers [1].