MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Launches Fee-Based “MIX Silver”

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit organization that publishes financial and social performance information from microfinance stakeholders, recently announced the launch of a fee-based service that offers the ability to: create a personalized dashboard to track real-time changes in microfinance markets; build virtual microfinance institution portfolios for analysis; access benchmarking and aggregation tools; and access all interim and annual data for approximately 2,000 MFIs in the MIX database [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating, MicroRate, Planet Rating Sign Microfinance Rating Agency Code of Conduct, Sanjay Sinha of Micro-Credit Ratings International (M-CRIL) Criticizes Commercial Rating Agencies as “Too Liberal” with Microfinance Institutions

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.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swiss Re Commits to Offering Cholera Insurance in Haiti and Crop Insurance in Senegal, Clinton Global Citizen Awards Announced at CGI Annual Meeting

Swiss Re, a global reinsurer, announced during the recent 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting its commitment to provide insurance against cholera for Haitian women entrepreneurs and an “insurance for work” program intended to help farmers in Senegal maintain food and income security amidst climate change.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Works With African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank to Plan Expansion to Support Emerging Arab Democracies

In a recent statement, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution, announced that it has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral financial institution based in Tunisia, and the Islamic Development Bank, a development finance institution based in Saudi Arabia, to outline how the institutions would cooperate in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region as EBRD extends its operation in the region to support the emerging Arab democracies [1].

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 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.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $13.5m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) VisionFund Cambodia, Equity Bank of Kenya

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss for-profit company that operates four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments of USD 13.5 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Equity Bank of Kenya and VisionFund Cambodia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate’s “The State of Microfinance Investments 2011” Indicates Resilience During Economic Downturn

MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, recently announced the release of its sixth annual survey of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), “The State of Microfinance Investments 2011.”

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Selective Knowledge: Reporting Biases in Microfinance Data, by Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, Published by Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College

By Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College, June 2009, 39 pages, available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/morduch/documents/articles/2008-06-Selective-knowledge.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New Criteria Announced for Social Performance Reporting Awards from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Ford Foundation, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)

The Social Performance Reporting Awards, instituted in 2009 to recognize microfinance institutions (MFIs) committed to “transparent social performance monitoring and management,” recently announced that this year, in addition to promoting MFIs on the basis on transparency, the award will also recognize “good practices in social performance management” [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MICROFIS Obtains Approval as “Listing Sponsor” from NYSE Alternext Stock Exchange, Announces Partnership with Microfinance Rating Agency MicroRate

MICROFIS, a France-based market platform for investors in “responsible finance”, recently obtained accreditation as a “listing sponsor” from NYSE Alternext, a stock exchange operated by NYSE Euronext that connects investors with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Latin America Approved as Microfinance Rating Agency in Peru, Celebrates 14th Anniversary

MicroRate Latin America, the Lima-based arm of the evaluator of microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it has been approved as a rating agency by Peru’s Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Pension Fund Managers (SBS), which reportedly makes it the only regulated rating agency in Peru that specializes in microfinance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Sponsors Research Programs on Rising Risk in Microcredit

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has submitted a call for proposals to select university centers that wish to conduct research on the theme of the rising risk of microcredit, which include possible cause factors, warning signals, current states and future prospects.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Investment Transparency and Evaluation in Washington DC, USA, and Online, July 20, 2011

Event Name: USAID Microenterprise Development Office After Hours Seminar #53 – Microfinance Investment Transparency and Evaluation

Event Date: July 20, 2011; 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EDT

Event Location: QED Group, Washington DC, USA or online

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Brief “Measuring Changes in Client Lives Through Microfinance: Contributions of Different Approaches” Finds Existing RCTs Insufficient to Prove Success of MicroCredit

A recent brief published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) examines different approaches to measuring changes in client lives that may be attributed to microfinance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Launch “Arab Secured Transactions Initiative” to Boost Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional organization that supports economic development in the Arab world, recently launched the Arab Secured Transactions Initiative to encourage lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).