XacBank, Mongolia’s largest microfinance institution, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a microfinance think tank housed at the World Bank, announced the launch of a new mobile phone banking service with a target audience of 300,000. CGAP is providing XacBank with financial and technical support.
Search Results for: cgap
PRESS RELEASE: CGAP Microfinance Technology Survey Offers $15k in Consulting Services
Source: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the Microfinance Management Institute (MFMI) Host “Funder” Training Course in Croatia
CGAP/MFMI FUNDER TRAINING COURSE
SEPTEMBER 8-12 2008 DUBROVNIK, CROATIA
Organized by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and nonprofit management training organization the Microfinance Management Institute (MFMI), the “Building Inclusive Financial Systems: How Can Funders Make a Difference” course will provide an overview of microfinance as well as practical recommendations, techniques and tools for building micro-financial systems, encouraging microfinance policy, and developing microfinance projects.
PRESS RELEASE: CGAP Unveils Results of New “SmartAid for Microfinance Index”
Source: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CGAP and the Munich Re Foundation’s Fourth International Microinsurance Conference Will be Held in Cartegana Colombia to Discuss Current Challenges and Practical Innovations in Microinsurance
MICROINSURANCE CONFERENCE 2008
NOVEMBER 5-7 2008, CENTRO DE CONVENCIONES Y EXPOSICIONES IN CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA
The Microinsurance Conference 2008 will facilitate panel discussions, working groups and plenary sessions to explore the limits and opportunities of the microinsurance sector. It will focus specifically on technology, innovation, capacity building and regulation, exploring areas such as agriculture, health and risk management. Sessions will be based on practical experiences and global examples from places such as Pakistan, South Africa and Peru. The conference will be conducted in English. Spanish translation will be available.
PRESS RELEASE: CGAP Report on Mobile Banking Sees Potential to Reach Millions of Unbanked Poor
Source: CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).
PRESS RELEASE: World Bank, CGAP to Support Mobile Phone Banking in Maldives
Source: World Bank.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CGAP Working Group on Housing Finance for the Poor Solicits Feedback, Will Change Host from Habitat.org to CGAP.org
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) invites you to take a survey regarding the website of its Working Group on Housing Finance for the Poor. The effort is part of a plan to relocate the site from Habitat.org to CGAP.org in the coming months. Three respondents will each be rewarded with a copy of “Housing Microfinance: A Guide to Practice” by Franck Daphnis and Bruce Ferguson. Questions on the survey may be directed to jflewelling@habitat.org.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: USAID, MicroFinance Network, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) to Host Online Discussion of Microfinance Institution Staff Incentive Schemes
US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPEAKER’S CORNER ON STAFF INCENTIVES
APRIL 15-17, 2008, VIA INTERNET
This an online and email-based discussion of best practices in staff incentive schemes (SIS), which can play a key role in microfinance institutions’ (MFIs’) human resources strategies. A worldwide survey on the use of staff incentives conducted by the MicroFinance Network (MFN) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) will be discussed. Co-hosted by the MFN and CGAP, the discussion will be moderated by Mattias Grammling, Martin Holtmann and Martha Ottenbacher. Different topics will be discussed each day:
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Munich Re Foundation and Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Seek Proposals by May 15 for November 2008 Microinsurance Conference in Colombia
The fourth international Microinsurance Conference will be held from November 5-7, 2008, in Cartagena, Colombia. This event is jointly hosted by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Working Group on Microinsurance and the Munich Re Foundation, with support provided by Columbian insurer Fasecolda and Federación Interamericana de Empresas de Seguros (FIDES).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Vikram Akula, SKS Founder and CEO, to Speak at Washington Offices of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) April 11, 2008
“BROWN BAG” LUNCH WITH VIKRAM AKULA OF SKS MICROFINANCE
APRIL 11, 2008, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) periodic Brown Bag Lunches offer the opportunity to hear about happenings and advances in microfinance in a casual setting. This Friday at noon CGAP hosts special guest Vikram Akula, Founder and CEO of microfinance institution SKS Microfinance. Lunch will be served and, although the event is free of charge, RSVP is requested by Thursday, April 10 via cgap@worldbank.org. Event details are not available online, but CGAP may be reached at +1 202 473 9594. The CGAP offices are on the third floor of 900 19th Street NW, Washington DC.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CGAP, DFID, IFC, GSM Association Organize Mobile Money Summit in Cairo
2008 MOBILE MONEY SUMMIT: EXPANDING MARKETS, TRANSFORMING LIVES
MAY 14-15, 2008, CAIRO, EGYPT
This conference is designed for senior executives from financial services institutions, mobile network operators, development organizations, solutions vendors and regulatory and policy makers. The inaugural event will cover prime markets, showcase new solutions and share key success factors and learnings from around the world. The goal of the Summit is to stimulate greater understanding and collaboration among local and global stakeholders. The organizers aim to equip participants to develop and deploy their own Mobile Money portfolio effectively, efficiently and at scale.
PAPER WRAP-UP: CGAP: The True Cost of Deposit Mobilization: Deposit Costing Project Draft Report, December 2007
Prepared by Rani Deshpande and Jasmina Glisovic-Mezieres for Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) (CGAP) and released in December 2007 as a 13-page draft report presenting data collected by CGAP in December 2005 of deposit costs at five different microfinance institutions, using activity-based costing (ABC). This document is available at: http://microfinancegateway.org/files/45789_file_THE_TRUE_COST_OF_DEPOSIT_MOBILIZATION.pdf
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) investigated the cost of deposits at five different microfinance institutions using activity-based costing (ABC), a method that traces costs of activities to specific products or cost objectives, to determine the expenses involved in mobilizing deposits and how they could be reduced.
PRESS RELEASE: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Report Reveals First Performance Figures on Microfinance Funds
Source: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).
PRESS RELEASE: 2008 Banana Skins Survey, Funded by Citi & CGAP, Highlights Risks of Microfinance
Source: Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the Microfinance Management Institute (MFMI) to Hold Funder Training Course in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CGAP/MFMI FUNDER TRAINING COURSE
APRIL 7-11, 2008, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
The complete title of this event is “Building Inclusive Financial Systems: How Funders Can Make a Difference” and it is the first of three courses on the same subject to be held in 2008. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the Microfinance Management Institute (MFMI), a joint venture of CGAP and the Open Society Institute (OSI), are offering the session which will be “a hands-on training course on building financial systems for the poor,” according to the brochure. Both the enrollment form and the brochure are available on the CGAP Donor Information Network Center (CGAP DIRECT) Web site.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Microinsurance in Focus Note Nr. 2: “Product Design and Insurance Risk Management”, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Published by CGAP, based on key chapters of Protecting the Poor: A Microinsurance Compendium, 4 pages, October 2007, available for viewing here.
The second microfinance focus note of the series, entitled “Product Design and Insurance Risk Management”, focuses on ensuring the viability and sustainability of the insurance product. In order to design a product that strikes a balance between broad inclusion, value, affordability, and sustainability, microinsurance providers must start with four basic steps: define the target group, assess insurable risks, determine key product features, and establish payment capabilities among the target population.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Microinsurance in Focus Note Nr. 1: “Marketing: Promoting Insurance to the Poor”, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Published by CGAP, based on key chapters of Protecting the Poor: A Microinsurance Compendium, 4 pages, October 2007, available for viewing here.
In this first of twelve microinsurance focus notes, “Marketing: Promoting Insurance to the Poor”, CGAP provides tips on how to market insurance to the low-income population. Because this market segment is particularly disinclined to purchase insurance for several reasons, including lack of insurance education, limited resources, intangible benefits, short-term perspectives, and trust issues, social marketing techniques coupled with financial education are often necessary to successfully sell microinsurance.