A recent article from Al Jazeera English, an English-language news source based in Qatar, cited critics blaming the decline in the Bosnian microfinance sector on the profit-driven orientation of the country’s microfinance institutions (MFIs).
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KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: FRONTIERS, Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund, Goodwell, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Fund
The following microfinance investment funds are profiled in this brief:
FRONTIERS
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FRONTIERS
Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund
Goodwell
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Goodwell
Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Fund
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: AfriCap Microfinance Fund
Overview:
The AfriCap Microfinance Fund (AfriCap) is private equity fund that invests in microfinance related organizations that are committed to commercial viability.
Description:
AfriCap uses equity and quasi equity instruments with an aggregate exposure of $1.5 million per investment, with equity stakes ranging from 15 to 30 percent. AfriCap also offers a Technology Assistance Package through the AfriCap managed grant fund. AfriCap invests in a range of financial services companies, including micro-insurance, low-income housing, micro-leasing and money transfers.
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: ACCION Gateway Fund LLC
Overview:
The ACCION Gateway Fund, LLC invests directly in regulated microfinance institutions or non-profit organizations that are transforming into regulated microfinance institutions.
WHO’s WHO IN MICROFINANCE: The Russian Microfinance Center (RMC)
The Russian Microfinance Center (RMC), a not for profit trade organization, was established in 2002 to work on behalf of the Russian microfinance community. Its mission is to promote the development of the entire Russian microfinance market.
NEWS WIRE: Tanzania: US Agency for International Development to Provide $10m for Agricultural Microfinance
Source: Reuters.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Government of Italy Provides $9.1m to MicroFinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA)
Afghanistan´s finance minister Omar Zakhilwal and Italy’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Claudio Glaentzer, have signed a bilateral agreement under which the Italian government will provide USD 9.1 million (Euro 6.4 million) to the Afghan microfinance sector. The money will be given to a trust fund within the Ministry of Finance, managed by MicroFinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), an independent agency. Under the agreement, the loans will be disbursed to poor Afghans in the western provinces of Herat, Farah and Baghdis, where Italian troops operate [1]. The agreement coincides with an announcement by Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa that 400 of Italy’s 3,000 troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn after the November 7th election [2].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Credit Guarantee Corporation of Malaysia Agrees to Guarantee $29.6m of Standard Chartered´s Loans to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, in collaboration with the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Malaysia (CGC), has launched the “Portfolio Guarantee Scheme.” The plan calls for the CGC to act as a partial guarantor for the USD 29.6 million in loans that Standard Chartered plans to disburse to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) over the next 18 months [1].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Egypt Government to Draft Legislation Regulating Microfinance and Microinsurance Providers
A recent press release announced decisions on the part of the Egyptian government to draft a new legislation for the purpose of microfinance regulation in Egypt. The legislation is meant to provide a framework within which all microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Egypt can operate [1].
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) APAC Conference & Expo, December 8-9, 2009, Manila, Philippines, Sponsored by Obopay
Event Name: Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) APAC Conference & Expo, December 8-9, 2009, Manila, Philippines
Date: December 8-9, 2009
Type: Conference
Location: Manila, Philippines
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Social Capital Markets 2009 (SoCap09) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Support “Social Financing”
A recent story from The Economist titled, “Financial innovation and the poor: A place in society,” states that despite the recent financial crisis, bankers, investors, and philanthropists have not shied away from capital markets. [2]
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: U.S. Senators Introduce Microfinance Growth Fund (MGF) in Latin America and Caribbean, Backed by Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC)
United States Senator Bob Menendez of the state of New Jersey, U.S. recently announced plans to invest in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) microfinance sector. The U.S. administration will launch a Microfinance Growth Fund (MGF) with the following organizations: the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an independent U.S. government agency which assists with investments in developing countries; the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an autonomous fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), an affiliate of the IDB which supports private sector and capital market development in LAC countries.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: US Congressional Delegation Visits Opportunity International Microfinance Bank in Kigali, Rwanda to Promote Proposed US Government Funding for Human Capacity Building in Developing Countries
Mr. Gregory W. Meeks, a United States (U.S.) Congressman representing New York State’s Sixth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives recently led a delegation to Kigali, Rwanda. The representatives met to explore the existing microfinance situation in sub-Saharan Africa, and to better understand the needs for expanding micro-banking services in the region.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: VIII National Conference: The Role of Microfinance in Overcoming the Financial and Economic Crisis, November 17-19, 2009 in Moscow, Organized by the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC)
Event Name: VIII National Conference: The Role of Microfinance in Overcoming the Financial and Economic Crisis
Event Date: November 17-19, 2009
Event Location: Moscow
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance for NGO, CHF International (Part one of a three part series)
Founded in 1952, CHF International (CHF) has worked in over 100 countries and currently operates in more than 25 nations. CHF’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and moderate-income communities around the world, helping people improve their social, economic, and environmental conditions. One component of fulfilling that mission has been improving access to financial services. In the last five years, CHF International has disbursed over 200,000 loans totaling more than USD 482 million and has a particular niche in establishing microfinance programs in conflict, post-conflict, and post-disaster settings. CHF currently oversees lending operations in 11 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. As of June 2009, CHF International had assets under management of over USD 200 million (microfinance portfolio outstanding of USD 107.6 million plus middle market portfolio outstanding of USD 93.5 million).
Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance that oversees Microfinance, SME and Housing Finance Initiatives at CHF International (CHF)
MicroCapital: First of all, can you tell us why CHF has chosen to focus on development finance particularly in conflict and post conflict areas?
NEWS WIRE: Kyrgyzstan: Microfinance Sector Growing Fast
Source: Business New Europe.
NEWS WIRE: Yemen: Microfinance Loans Grow Women-Owned Businesses
Source: Yemen Times.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest USD 5 million in FM Bank, Poland’s First Microfinance Bank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank has announced an investment of USD 5 million in FM Bank, a new microfinance bank based in Poland [1]. The investment would help the bank ‘to support the [Polish] microfinance sector and improve access to finance for micro and small businesses’. FM Bank, a spin-off from the operations of the Polish microfinance institution Fundusz Mikro, only recently received a commercial banking license and is reportedly the first microfinance bank in the country [1].