By Isabelle Agier and Ariane Szafarz, published by Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and Universite Libre de Bruxelles, March 2010, 37 pages, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1573872
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MICROCAPITAL EVENT: HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership for Microfinance, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, April 25-30, 2011
Event Name: HBS-ACCION Program on Strategic Leadership for Microfinance
Event Date: April 25 – April 30, 2011
Event Location: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION USA’s President Gina Harman Argues Microfinance Can Grow Small Business in the US “On a Much Larger Scale”
Gina Harman, President and CEO of ACCION USA, an affiliate of ACCION International, a private, US-based nonprofit organization with a global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently argued on the Huffington Post website that microfinance now offers an unprecedented opportunity for job creation in the US.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund Release “2010 Microfinance Americas: The Top 100”
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, in partnership with the Multilateral Investment Fund, an investment fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), have recently published the “2010 Microfinance Americas: The Top 100”.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: At Clinton Global Initiative, Omidyar Network Commits to Investing $55m in Technology that Supports Government Transparency and Financial Access through Mobile Technology
The Omidyar Network, a United States-based socially responsible investment firm, announced at the recent sixth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that it would invest USD 55 million in technological innovations that promote government transparency and economic empowerment.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Study: Microfinance Lending in Latin America and the Caribbean Increased by 13 Percent in 2009
According to a survey conducted by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an investment fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), loan portfolios of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 13 percent in 2009.
MICROCAPTAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution (MFI) ACCION International Ranked Most Effective Nonprofit by Philanthropedia
ACCION International (ACCION), a private, US-based nonprofit organization with a global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), has announced that Philanthropedia, an organization that evaluates the effectiveness of nonprofits, ranked it highest among microfinance organizations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Women’s World Banking (WWB) Center for Microfinance Leadership Highlights Importance of Training
The latest newsletter of the Women’s World Banking (WWB) Center for Microfinance Leadership, an organization that provides technical and advisory services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) affiliated with WWB, emphasizes the need among MFI leaders for leadership training.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Provide $40m to Argentinian Bank, Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, for Agribusiness Credit Line, Sustainability Projects
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund for International Development (OFID), a multilateral development finance institution based in Vienna, recently announced an agreement to provide up to USD 40 million to Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA (Banco Galicia), an Argentinian bank, in support of an agribusiness credit line and sustainability projects in Argentina.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: C5’s Second Annual Microinsurance Summit, London, UK, September 29-30, 2010
Event Name: Microinsurance Summit, London, UK, September 29-30, 2010
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ThoughtWorks to Provide Software Services in Support of The Grameen Foundation’s Mifos Microfinance Technology Platform
ThoughtWorks, a global technology company based in the US state of Illinois, has announced that it will provide software engineering services for The Grameen Foundation’s Mifos Platform, a software platform launched in 2006.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swadhaar FinServe Private Limited to Receive $5.9m in Equity from ACCION International, Unitus Equity Fund, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, MicroVest, an Indian Family Trust and Swadhaar’s Promoter Group
Swadhaar FinServe Private Limited, a Mumbai-based microfinance institution (MFI) with total assets of USD 2.1 million as of 2008, recently announced that it will receive INR 27.5 crore (equivalent to USD 5.9 million) in equity from several different investor organizations and private investors.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) Releases Nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at Leadership Summit in Toronto, Canada
The Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG), a division of the G20 – a group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors that discuss key issues in the global economy – released nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at the recent G20 leadership summit in Toronto. The principles are intended to form the basis of a concrete action plan for improving access to financial services for the poor, which will be released at the Seoul Summit in November.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION Microfinance Bank of Nigeria Posts $500,000 Profit
ACCION Microfinance Bank Limited of Nigeria has reported an after-tax profit of NGN 75.92 million or the equivalent of USD 500,000 for the period ended December 31, 2009, compared to a reported loss of NGN 67.47 million or the equivalent of USD 400,000 for the year ended December 31, 2008.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Releases First Social Performance Report
Oikocredit, an ecumenical co-operative investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million [1], has released its first social performance report indicating that 20 percent of its portfolio is invested in 18 of the lowest-income countries, 53 percent targets rural clients, and 85 percent of investee clients are women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Announce Winners of 2010 Sustainable Banking Awards – Recipients Include Co-operative Financial Services, Itau Unibanco, One Acre Fund, Financial Information Network and Operations (FINO) and Global Environment Fund
The Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the winners of the 2010 Sustainable Banking Awards. Co-operative Financial Services, a British financial group with GBP 1.1 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in total revenue in 2009, was named as the Sustainable Bank of the Year, while Itau Unibanco, a publicly quoted bank in Brazil with USD 356.3 billion in total assets in 2009, was named the Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SMART Campaign Announces 1,000 Endorsements of Consumer Protection Principles
The SMART Campaign, an international microfinance advocacy organization launched in October 2009, announced it has reached 1,000 endorsements from microfinance organizations across 106 countries [1]. The Campaign’s mission is promote six principles in the treatment of low-income clients: avoidance of over-indebtedness, transparent pricing, appropriate collections practices, ethical staff behavior, mechanisms for redress of grievances, and privacy of client data [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Current and Former CEOs of ACCION International Discuss Role of Microfinance and Capital Markets in Fighting Poverty
In response to the upcoming IPO (initial public offering) of SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) with more than 3.5 million borrowers, Mr Michael Schlein, President and CEO of ACCION International, and Mr Michael Chu, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and former CEO of ACCION, discuss the role of microfinance and the capital markets in fighting poverty in a Forbes magazine article.