Al Amal Bank, a microfinance bank in Yemen, will be awarded USD 104,000 for winning the Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010, a contest that promotes the design of Shariah-compliant products for Islamic microfinance clients. Al Amal’s proposal for the competition was to test-run an Islamic leasing product, funding the pilot through its Islamic investment product and achieving operational and financial sustainability by 2012.
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MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: Over-Indebtedness and Microfinance: Constructing an Early Warning Index; by Vivien Kappel, Annette Krauss and Laura Lontzek; published by Center for Microfinance, University of Zurich, responsAbility Social Investments AG, Triodos Bank and Council of Microfinance Equity Funds
By Vivien Kappel, Annette Krauss and Laura Lontzek; published by Center for Microfinance and the University of Zurich, responsAbility Social Investments AG, Triodos Bank and Council of Microfinance Equity Funds; December 2010; 53 pages; available at:?http://www.triodos.com/downloads/276627/over-indebtedness-report-full-st…
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation, Grameen Capital India and Grameen-Jameel Announce $8m Guarantee Pool to Improve Liquidity of Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit; Grameen Capital India, a Mumbai-based social business that promotes growth in the microfinance sector in India; and Grameen-Jameel, a joint venture founded in 2007 by the Grameen Foundation and Grow Well Limited of Saudi Arabia, have launched a new initiative to address the liquidity needs of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) that demonstrate a focus on social as well as financial returns.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 350 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Report to Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Social Performance Reporting Awards
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance data clearinghouse, recently argued that microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world have increased their commitment to transparency in social performance based on a surge in applications to the MIX’s 2010 Social Performance Reporting Awards, which acknowledge openness in reporting.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Assesses Potential Impact of Recent Microfinance Regulation in India’s Andhra Pradesh State
Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a nonprofit that seeks to offer objective data and analysis on microfinance players, recently examined historical data from 2003 to the present from 100 MFIs in India to assess the hypothetical impact of capping interest rates at 24 percent and return on assets (ROA) at 3 percent, two limits effectively imposed by the state government on MFIs amidst the ongoing crisis in the microfinance industry in India’s Andhra Pradesh state.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: African Financial Systems: A Review by Franklin Allen, Isaac Otchere and Lemma Senbet, Published by The Wharton Financial Institutions Center
by Franklin Allen, Isaac Otchere and Lemma Senbet, published by The Wharton Financial Institutions Center, March 2010, 69 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.1.8282/African%20financial%20systems.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution Banco del Exito (Banex) to be Liquidated
Nicaraguan banking authorities are expected to announce the liquidation of Banco del Exito (Banex), a Nicaraguan microfinance institution, in the next several days.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Turkish Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Maya Enterprise for Microfinance and Turkish Grameen Microcredit Program (TGMP) Receive $5m from Grameen-Jameel
Grameen-Jameel, a joint venture founded in 2007 by the US-based Grameen Foundation and Grow Well Limited of Saudi Arabia, announced that it will provide technical assistance and financial support amounting to USD 5.2 million to Turkish microfinance institutions (MFIs) Turkish Grameen Microcredit Program (TGMP) and Maya Enterprise for Microfinance.
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: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases French Edition of 2009 Arab Microfinance Report
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) in partnership with Sanabel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Arab microfinance, and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group, recently released the French edition of its 2009 Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate Releases 5th Annual Survey: “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey”
MicroRate, a microfinance rating agency, has released its fifth annual survey evaluating trends in microfinance investment – “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey.” The 2010 MIV survey indicates that investor interest in microfinance funds and similar intermediaries remains strong despite the global recession. However, strong interest from investors is being offset by weaker demand for funding from microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2009, MIVs grew by 22 percent, but assets actually deployed to MFIs only grew 11 percent. This leaves MIVs with rapidly increasing levels of liquidity. By the end of last year, competition forced rates below the minimum level that some MIVs deem necessary in order to be compensated fully for the risk involved.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citigroup Considering Opening Shariah-Compliant Banks in Pakistan
Citigroup is considering opening Shariah-compliant banks in the Pakistan market to serve the Muslim population whose beliefs prohibit paying interest on loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Environment Ministry, KfW to Launch $500m Microfinance Fund for Climate Projects in Brazil, Asia, Africa
Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry recently announced it would be launching a USD 500 million climate fund that will provide microloans for individual energy efficiency or renewables projects initially through local banks in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines and South Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Sanabel Grant Certificates of Transparency to 43 Arab Microfinance Institutions
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Sanabel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Arabic microfinance, recently awarded certificates of transparency to 43 microfinance institutions from Arab countries.
MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Foreign Exchange Facilities: Performance and Prospects, by David Apgar and Xavier Reille of CGAP
By David Apgar and Xavier Reille, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), April 2010, 12 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.43712/
“Microfinance Foreign Exchange Facilities,” a paper recently published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), reviews methods microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) use to deal with foreign exchange risk. It considers the nascent microfinance hedging market by detailing the operations of The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX), Cygma Corp and MFX Solutions LLC (MFX). It concludes by examining the importance of local-currency markets and additional development of the microfinance hedging market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LuxFLAG and MicroRate Announce LUMINIS Microfinance, Internet-Based Microfinance Investment Vehicle Information Service
LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the Luxembourgian microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) certification organization, and MicroRate, the microfinance institution (MFI) rating agency with offices in the US, Peru and Morocco, signed an agreement on May 12, 2010, creating LUMINIS Microfinance, an MIV information service [1]. LUMINIS is intended to allow investors to make better-informed investment decisions based on a comprehensive database of MIV performance metrics.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Receives Top Economics Prize
Esther Duflo, a contributor to the field of microfinance research, has been awarded the John Bates Clark Medal [1]. The award, which is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious prizes in the field, is given to an economist in the US under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP, Deutsche Bank, Grameen-Jameel and Islamic Development Bank partner to launch Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a policy and research center; Deutsche Bank, a European commercial bank with a microfinance program; Grameen-Jameel, a company that provides support to microfinance institutions (MFIs); and the Islamic Development Bank, an international finance institution, recently announced the Islamic Microfinance Challenge, a contest intended to promote the innovative design of Shariah-compliant products for Islamic microfinance clients.