by Ashim Kar -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $10.5m in Local Currency to ProCredit Affiliates in Ecuador, Mexico; Peruvian Microfinance Institutions Confianza, Crear Arequipa

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that manages four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it made local-currency loans equivalent to the following amounts through its MIVs: USD 2 million to ProCredit Ecuador; USD 2.97 million to ProCredit Mexico; USD 2.05 million to Financiera Confianza and USD 3.5 million to Edpyme Crear Arequipa, the last two of which are microfinance institutions (MFIs) located in Peru.

by Rohan Trivedi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $27m to Microfinance Institution Prizma of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Russia’s Forus Bank, NBD Bank, FINCA Russia

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that manages four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments worth the equivalent of USD 27.4 million in NBD Bank, a commercial bank in Russia, and three microfinance institutions (MFIs): Microcredit Foundation Prizma of Bosnia and Herzegovina; FINCA Russia; and Forus Bank, also of Russia.

by Julie Moksim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Launch “Arab Secured Transactions Initiative” to Boost Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional organization that supports economic development in the Arab world, recently launched the Arab Secured Transactions Initiative to encourage lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

by Alex Pattee -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Prisma is First Fully Certified User of Grameen Foundation’s Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI)

Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, has announced that “Asociacion Benefica Prisma”, a Peru-based microfinance institution (MFI), has become the first fully certified user of the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) [1].

by Medha Ravi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al Amal Bank of Yemen Wins Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010

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.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA): Microfinance in Lebanon Suffers from Lack of Regulation

Byblos Bank, a Lebanese institution with operations in nine countries, has cited an unspecified report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) as arguing that the continued growth of the microfinance sector in Lebanon is hindered by inappropriate governmental regulation and a lack of reliable data on borrowers.

by Medha Ravi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) Launches in Pakistan, Will Serve Shariah Microlenders Worldwide

Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) has recently launched in Pakistan with the aim to provide a common platform for Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. Headquartered in Lahore, the network is also looking to establish regional offices in Ghana, Mauritius and the Middle East.

by John Howard-Smith -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Launches Transparent Pricing Initiative in Rwanda Aiming to Reduce Interest Rates on Microfinance Loans

MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental watchdog that focuses on interest rates in the microfinance industry, recently expanded its Transparent Pricing Initiative to Rwanda to educate citizens in that country on interest rates in an effort to impel microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country to lower microfinance interest rates. Plans for this expansion were announced on this website in October.

by Witt Gatchell -

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.

by Matthew Fox -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: MFTransparency Hosts Conference Launching its Microfinance Transparency Pricing Initiative in Bolivia, December 2, 2010 (Date Has Been Revised)

Event Name: Conference: Transparent Pricing Initiative in Bolivia

Event Date: December 2, 2010 (date has been revised)

Event Location: Radisson Plaza Hotel, La Paz, Bolivia

by Matthew Fox -

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.

by Julia Korn -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Transparent Pricing Initiative in Colombia on September 1-2, 2010, in Bogota and Medellin, Hosted by Microfinance Transparency

Event Name: Microfinance Transparency’s (MFTransparency’s) Transparent Pricing Initiative in Colombia

Event Date: September 1 and September 2, 2010

by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based International Development Non-profit Organization CHF International Sets Up CHF Finance Group to House Its Commercial Microfinance Institution Subsidiaries

CHF International, a US-based international development and humanitarian assistance non-profit organization, has set up a private holding company, CHF Finance Group, to house its commercial microfinance institution (MFI) subsidiaries.

by Eric McKay -

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.