Source: Radio Australia
Search Results for: india
PAPER WRAP-UP: “Community-Managed Loan Funds: Which Ones Work?” by Jessica Murray and Richard Rosenberg
Written by Jessica Murray and Richard Rosenberg, published in May 2006 as Focus Note Number 36 by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), 15 pages, full text available at: http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.2577/FocusNote_36.pdf
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Muhammad Yunus Warns of the Dangers of Foreign Currency at Sa-Dahn Microfinance Conference
Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Laureate who made microfinance a success in Bangladesh, has warned of the pitfalls for microfinance institutions relying on foreign money. The comments, reported by The Hindu Business Line, came at the recent Sa-Dahn National Microfinance Conference 2009 in New Delhi, India.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: IDB and Fundación Telefónica Present Report on Mobile Communications and Access to Financial Services in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Fundación Telefónica have recently presented a report on mobile communications and access to financial services in Latin America. The report is a result of a dialogue between public and private sector leaders, carried out through a series of workshops organized by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) – a division of the IDB – and Fundación Telefónica. The report analyses the level of development of mobile technologies and financial services in eight countries throughout Latin America and the Carribean. A copy of the report was still unavailable at the time of this release.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International Holds First Meeting of the Steering Committee for the Campaign for Client Protection in Microfinance; International Leaders Endorse the Six Principles of Client Protection in the Meeting
In the face of client protection failures in the mainstream financial sector, the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Campaign for Client Protection in Microfinance was hosted by the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International. The meeting was attended by members of the committee which comprises of twenty-three leaders from various microfinance organizations representing a diversity of regions, types of institutions and expertise. The purpose of the meeting was aimed at ensuring microfinance providers worldwide remain committed to serving their clients’ best interests. According to a press release on PRNewsire, the leaders attending the meeting officially endorsed the six principles of client protection in microfinance launched by the campaign at the Clinton Global Initiative in September, 2008. MicroCapital had previously reported on the official launch of the campaign; more information on the story can be found here. The press release states the meeting has a ‘sense of importance and timing’ given the current financial crisis sweeping the world and the increasing focus on interest rates and transparency.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 4th Annual African Microfinance Conference: Affordable Access to Finance for Low-income African Entrepreneurs to be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in the Sub-Saharan Africa region from July 7-10th, 2009
Leonce Kone, Committee Chairman for the Fourth Annual African Microfinance Conference in Ouagadougou
July 7-10, 2009, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Sub-Saharan Africa)
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Charlie Rose’s conversation with Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund and author of “The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World,” with discussions on international development and the critical role that microfinance plays for developing nations.
Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, spoke with Charlie Rose on the “Charlie Rose” show, which aired on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. In the interview she discusses her book “The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World,” with discussions on international development and the critical role that microfinance plays for developing nations and the global arena. Ms. Novogratz has been hailed by “New York Times” columnist Nick Kristof as “one of the most interesting innovators in aid and development.”
MICROFINANCE STORY: Cranes Software International Gets Project from Larsen & Toubro Division L&T Finance to Implement a Microfinance Lending Solution
According to a company press release on Business Wire India, Cranes Software International, a developer of statistical analysis and simulation products, has signed an agreement with L&T Finance, the financial division of Larsen & Toubro,an Indian conglomerate, to implement a microfinance lending solution.
NEWS WIRE: Microfinance Institutions Scrutinized as Potential “Subprime” Borrowers
Source: The Economist.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Equitas Micro Finance Gets Transaction Securitized and Rated by CRISIL, Structured and Arranged by the Institute for Financial Management and Research
Equitas Micro Finance India announced it has completed a microloan backed rated securitization worth USD 3.0m. According to a press release in the Economic Times, the pass-through certificates are rated by CRISIL and backed by microloan receivables originated by Equitas. CRISIL is an Indian rating company and a division of Standard and Poor’s. The Series A1 certificates are rated AA(so) and the Series A2 certificates are rated BBB(so). IFMR, the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, structured and arranged the transaction. The COO of Equitas, S. Baskar, commented “traditionally MFIs in India have had to access only banks for debt raising, placing limitations. This transaction would open a new window to the industry to raise debt from those banks which do not generally participating (sic) in funding to MFIs”.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Challenges to Regulation of Mobile Transaction Services, E-Money, and other Branchless Banking Technologies
In March 2007, when Kenyan cellphone service provider Safaricom launched its mobile payment service M-Pesa (‘M’ for mobile; ‘Pesa’ meaning money in Swahili), it predicted the service would attract 450 thousand customers by January 2008. The service caught on, and fast. When January 2008 rolled around, M-Pesa had more than doubled its goal, registering more than 1 million users in ten months. People began using M-Pesa credits to pay for everything from well water to cab fare. According to Wired magazine, almost a third of Kenya’s population now pays their electricity bills via mobile device. M-Pesa has now registered over 5 million users, and continues to register 10 thousand more each day. As discussed in this MicroCapital article, many banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs), such as Equity Bank in Kenya, have begun to adopt cellphone cash-transfer services as a way to minimize administrative costs and penetrate markets otherwise unreachable by traditional banking. Mobile transaction services, e-money, and other branchless banking technologies have also flourished in a number of developing nations beyond Kenya, most notably Brazil, India, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Russia, and Colombia. However, where the rapid growth of branchless banking has sparked the imagination of many, others’ optimism is shadowed by apprehension and concern that inadequate regulation in the nascent industry may place customers’ already vulnerable finances at risk.
NEWS WIRE: Over 80 percent of Investors have not Reduced their Microfinance Investment Portfolio Due to the Global Recession
Source: Microfinance Insights .
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Expanding Microfinancing in Latin America
In his article, published in British newspaper Financial Times, Jonathan Wheatley reports that, as the global banking system sinks into its worst crisis since the 1930s, there is a resurgence of interest in microfinance among Latin American banks. Several articles and papers have reported on this up and coming trend.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microinsurance Client Base of Allianz Life Indonesia Grows Four-fold in 2008
Microinsurance provider Allianz Life Indonesia has announced that its microinsurance client base grew 417 percent in 2008, from 42 thousand policyholders at the end of 2007 to 183.8 thousand at the end of the year. Its line of microinsurance products, dubbed “Payung Keluarga” (meaning “Family Umbrella”), generated a modest premium income of USD 82.5 thousand for the year, up 350 percent from USD 19.6 thousand in 2007. The significance is not the profit, but rather the increase in business volume. Payung Keluarga offers a range of life insurance products from basic credit life protection, which prevents microcredit borrowers from leaving debt to their family, to products that offer additional payouts to family upon the death of a breadwinner. Allianz Life Indonesia settled 76 microinsurance claims in 2008.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Institution Grama Vidiyal Plans to Raise USD 9.7 Million in Private Equity
Grama Vidiyal Microfinance Ltd (GVM) is in talks with private equity firms to raise INR 500 million (USD 9.7 million) to fund a proposed expansion that includes establishing branches in neighboring states as well as recruiting 700 more employees. We currently do not have any information as to which private equity funds have been approached for funding. Founded in 1993 and based in Tamil Nadu, India, Grama Vidiyal Microfinance Ltd is a non-governmental microfinance institution. As of March 2008, its total gross loan portfolio is USD 28.7 million, total assets USD 30.8 million, and total equity USD 4.8 million.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Carbon Manna Unlimited Seeks Strategic Partners to Implement Carbon Micro Credit System in Kenya
Carbon Manna Unlimited, a San Diego-headquartered company, has put out a call for strategic partnerships with companies and philanthropies interested in implementing its envisioned cell phone based Carbon Micro Credit system in Kenya, and subsequently, other West and Southern African countries. Specifically, the call goes out to manufacturers of cell phone and wireless transmission equipment, wireless carriers doing business in Africa, and companies interested in co-promotional campaigns. Carbon Manna Unlimited, founded by David Palella, aspires to create a system in which impoverished families can profit from the carbon offsets they produce by switching from inefficient cooking methods that burn biomass and contribute to deforestation, to efficient solar cookers or modern charcoal stoves. Mr. Palella estimates that each family that makes the transition could claim approximately three tons of carbon-offset credits per year, worth about USD 20 to USD 35 – about a month’s wage for someone living on USD 1 per day. Furthermore, in transitioning to the new stoves a family would reduce their contribution to deforestation and desertification, and limit their lung exposure to unhealthy smoke.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance to be Featured on the Big Screen: Dr. Mohammad Yunus’ autobiography ‘Banker to the Poor’ to be Adapted into an English Feature Film
‘Banker to the Poor’, the autobiography of Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus is being adapted to an English language feature film. According to a press release on Variety.com, the film will be developed by Marco Amenta, an Italian director, photographer and producer and is scheduled to begin shoot early 2010 in Bangladesh, the country where Dr. Yunus founded the Nobel Peace Prize winning microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Bank. Rome-based production house, Eurofilm has purchased rights to the book from Editions Lattes, the publisher of the French version of Dr. Yunus’ book. According to the release, Eurofilm is in advanced negotiations to co-produce the movie with international partners including the German based Pandora’s Film. Dr. Yunus will serve as a consultant and will be involved with the approval of the final screenplay of the film.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Omidyar Network Grants $4.5m to Opportunity International to Scale Technology-Based Microfinance Services in Africa
Opportunity International announced it received a 4.5 million USD grant from Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm. According to PR Newswire, the grant will be used to create and implement new electronic and mobile banking technologies that will reduce transaction costs and make microfinance services available to more people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, it will launch an “electronic wallet” strategy in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda – countries where Opportunity has significant operations already, including banks and financial institutions. The strategy aims to develop the optimum mix of electronic banking technologies needed in each of these countries.