Speaking at a recent panel held by the Brookings Institution, a US-based nonprofit public policy organization, on “Growth Through Innovation in Africa: Mobile Financial Services and Financial Inclusion,” Maria Otero, US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, argued that mobile money could substantially support financial inclusion efforts.
Search Results for: Brazil
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexican Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Credito Real, Financiera Independencia Report Brisk Bond Sales
Mexican microfinance institutions (MFIs) Credito Real SA and Financiera Independencia SAB have reported gains in bond sales that are double those of the average of bank in Latin America [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Technology Blog Analyzes Developments in Mexico’s Microfinance and Banking Sectors, Publishes Summary Note Covering Mexico’s Branchless Banking Industry
As part of a series on branchless banking around the world, a post was recently published on the CGAP Technology Blog, a website operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), covering regulatory developments in the Mexican microfinance sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC) Promote Lending Against Crop Receipts in Russia, Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral finance institution based in London, and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, are working together to promote lending against crop receipts of Russian and Ukrainian farmers in an effort to increase investment in agribusiness operations by allowing farm owners to use future harvests as collateral when applying for loans [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Mibanco Seeks $60m Syndicated Loan from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Grupo ACP Issues $85m in Bonds
Mibanco, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI), is seeking a syndicated loan in an amount equivalent to USD 60 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fundacion Microfinanzas BBVA Launches Spanish-Language “Universal Code for Corporate Governance”, “Guide to Adopting Good Governance Principles” Targeted at Latin American Microfinance Sector
Fundacion Microfinanzas BBVA (BBVAMF), a nonprofit created in 2007 as a subsidiary of multinational bank BBVA of Spain, recently launched its “Universal Code for Corporate Governance” and “Guide to Adopting Good Governance Principles” for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America [1,2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution (MFI) EB-ACCION Microfinance of Cameroon Forecasts Serving 70k Savers in First Five Years
In its first five years of operation, EB-ACCION Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Cameroon, expects to open 71,000 savings accounts, accumulating total deposits of USD 30.8 million while serving 28,400 borrowers with an outstanding loan portfolio of USD 32 million [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION International Issues Credit Guarantees Totaling $1.5m to Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Swadhaar FinServe, Saija
ACCION International (ACCION), a private, US-based nonprofit organization with a global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently issued two standby letters of credit (SBLC) totaling USD 1.5 million for two of its Indian partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) to secure loan facilities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s Corporación para las Microfinanzas-Puerto Rico Appoints Annette M Montolo as President
The Corporación para las Microfinanzas Puerto Rico (Microfinanzas-PR), a microfinance institution (MFI) controlled by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Foundation (BBVA Microfinance Foundation) recently appointed Annette M Montolo as its new president.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION International’s Smart Campaign to Launch Certification Program for Client Protection in Microfinance
The Smart Campaign, a global initiative to improve accountability regarding client protection in the microfinance industry, recently announced a plan to launch a certification process that will enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide to verify their commitment to the Campaign’s core “Client Protection Principles” through third-party assessors.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberty Mutual Offers Low-Cost Health Insurance in Colombia, Includes Payment Through Gas Company
Liberty Mutual, a US-based insurance provider that has subsidiaries across Asia, Europe and Latin America, has recently started offering health insurance policies to poor people in the slums of Barranquilla, Columbia. Micheal McCord, founder of the Microinsurance Centre, a for-profit organization that designs insurance policies for the poor, stated that while microcredit helps the poor in starting businesses and earning profits, an event such as serious health problem or death in the family can wipe out the profits earned if the entrepreneur is uninsured [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Partnership With Banco Itaú Europa, Commerzbank, Israel Discount Bank and Banco Security, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Syndicates $45m to Banco Industrial do Brasil (BIB) to Support Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank Group, a multilateral development finance organization based in Washington, DC, recently disbursed a syndicated loan equivalent to USD 45 million to Banco Industrial do Brasil (BIB), a commercial bank based in São Paulo, Brazil, with the intent of increasing financing initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Network Reviews 2010 Work on Performance Indicators, Technology, Standards Development
The Microinsurance Network, a member-based platform of approximately 60 organizations interested in advancing the development and distribution of insurance products for low-income households, has recently released an overview of its 2010 activities. These include the development and publication of 11 social performance indicators by the Performance Indicators Working Group; the launch of the Microinsurance Technology Inventory, an online database that provides insight into the use of technology for microinsurance; and enhancement of the organization’s website.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Opportunity Fund, ACCION and Kiva Present Microfinance USA Conference 2011 in New York, May 23 – 24
Event Name: Microfinance USA Conference 2011
Event Date: May 23 – May 24, 2011
Event Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NY
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Expands Microinsurance in Kenya and Rwanda through Syngenta, International Livestock Research Institute, MicroEnsure
Recently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization under the World Bank Group that has been a significant source of financing for the microfinance industry, agreed to confer to three microinsurance projects in East Africa a grant of USD 4.1 million, which is expected to allow 35,000 farmers and 5,000 livestock herders in Rwanda and Kenya to protect their crops and livestock from natural disasters.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muthoot Fincorp, ACCION International Join to Increase Microfinance Lending in India
Muthoot Fincorp, a finance company serving retail and institutional customers in India, and ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit with affiliated microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 23 countries, have joined together in an effort to increase lending in India’s microfinance sector.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Microfinance Latin América 2011, Lima, Peru, January 25-27, 2011
Event Name: Microfinance Latin América 2011
Event Date: January 25 – January 27, 2011
Event Location: Novotel, Lima, Peru
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: As Microfinance in Peru Continues to Grow, BBVA Continental to Acquire Financiera Confianza
The Daily Finance newspaper of the US reports that Peru’s highly competitive microlending market has helped drop interest rates while increasing average loan size, which stands at USD 1,300 as of 2009, an increase from approximately USD 1,000 in 2006, according to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.