MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Executive Director Reflects on Past and Future of the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)

On the occasion of his first anniversary with the organization, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Executive Director Marten Leijon reflects on the past and future of MIX, discussing priorities such as transparency, innovation and increased collaboration for information exchange.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muhammad Yunus and Vikram Akula Debate Microfinance Models at Annual Meeting of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

At the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a forum on international development founded in 2005 by former US President Bill Clinton, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and Vikram Akula, founder of Indian SKS Microfinance, which recently went public, discussed different models for microfinance institutions (MFIs).

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Fleming Gulf Hosts World Card and Payments Summit 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 14 – 16, 2011

Event Name: Conference: World Card and Payments Summit 2011

Event Date: February 14, 2010 – February 16, 2010

Event Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Building Houses, Financing Homes; by Anamitra Deb, Ashish Karamchandani and Raina Singh; Published by Monitor Inclusive Markets

By Anamitra Deb, Ashish Karamchandani and Raina Singh, Published by Monitor Inclusive Markets, July 2010, 16 pages, available at: http://www.monitor.com/Portals/0/MonitorContent/imported/MonitorUnitedStates/Articles/PDFs/Monitor_Inclusive_Markets_Building_Houses_Financing_Homes_exec_summary.pdf

In this paper, Anamitra Deb, Ashish Karamchandani and Raina Singh examine the future of housing development and finance for the low-income population of urban India, specifically Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave and Microfinance Focus Form Strategic Alliance to Expand Microfinance Resources

MicroSave, a microfinance consulting company established in 1998, has partnered with the Microfinance Focus website in a strategic alliance to promote microfinance knowledge sharing and dissemination with an emphasis on engaging diverse and geographically dispersed practitioners.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Non-bank E-Money Issuers: Regulatory Approaches to Protecting Customer Funds; by Michael Tarazi and Paul Breloff; Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)

By Michael Tarazi and Paul Breloff, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Focus Note 63, July 2010, 12 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.45715/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opinion Column Suggests Decline of Microfinance

“Goodbye, microfinance,” a column by opinion writer T K Arun, of The Economic Times, foresees an end to microfinance. The Economic Times is a publication focusing on the Indian economy. Mr Arun argues that the conditions that led to the success of microfinance are eroding in his home country of India.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Polaris Software Lab Limited and MFI Enterprise Solutions Sign Agreement to “Modernize” Ethiopian Finance through Customized Polaris Software Platforms

Polaris Software Lab Limited (Polaris), an India-based banking and insurance software company, and MFI Enterprise Solutions (MFIES), an information technology solutions provider and subsidiary of the MFI Group, recently signed a strategic agreement to “modernize” Ethiopian finance through software and software training.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Daniel Rozas and Vinod Kothari Weigh in on Risks of Microfinance Securitization

Daniel Rozas, a microfinance consultant based in Brussels, and Vinod Kothari, a microfinance practitioner based in Kolkata, India, recently wrote an article published on the Microfinance Focus website [1] describing the risks and proposing solutions to the risks behind microfinance securitization, a process that involves aggregating assets in a pool and issuing securities backed by the pool’s assets and cash flows [2].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Consultant Sahil Sondhi Calls for Strategy Realignment for Indonesian Microfinance Sector

Sahil Sondhi, an associate consultant at Strategic Asia, a Jakarta based consultancy, wrote an article that appeared recently on the Jakarta Globe website calling for a new strategy in the Indonesian microfinance sector.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases Arabic Edition of 2009 Arab Microfinance Report

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a nonprofit organization providing financial and social performance information for microfinance institutions, in association with the Sanabel network of Arab microfinance institutions and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group, recently released the Arabic edition of its 2009 Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited Likely to Hire Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JM Financial Limited to Manage its Initial Public Offering

Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, is reportedly likely to hire three global firms to manage its initial public offering (IPO): Citigroup, a US-based international financial services conglomerate; Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City; and JM Financial Limited, an integrated financial services group based in India.

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Mitigating Cost of Access to Finance for Micro and Small Enterprises in Southern Africa, September 29 – 30, 2010, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Event Name: Mitigating Cost of Access to Finance for Micro and Small Enterprises in South Africa

Event Date: September 29 – September 30, 2010

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases “Latin America and the Caribbean Benchmarks 2009”

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released “Latin America and the Caribbean Benchmarks 2009” which compares performance indicators for microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Releases Third Publication Under its Optimising Performance and Efficiency (OPE) Series, Entitled “The Savings Booklet”

MicroSave, a technical assistance, training and technical resource center for microfinance established in Uganda in 1998, has released the third publication under its Optimising Performance and Efficiency (OPE) Series, entitled “The Savings Booklet.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Karnataka Microfinance Institutions, EDA Rural Systems and CGAP Release Report, “Competition and the Role of External Agents: The 2009 delinquency crisis in southern Karnataka”

The Association of Karnataka Microfinance Institutions (AKMI), a community development and advocacy organization in rural Karnataka, India, recently announced the release of an independent report on last year’s delinquency crisis in the region.