MicroSave, an Indian for-profit technical assistance, training and resource center, recently published “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” a study on India’s “No Frill Accounts (NFAs),” a basic account option legally required of private banks as part of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) “Financial Inclusion Programme.”
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Celebrates Grand Opening of Operations in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Opportunity International (OI), a global network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 24 countries, has celebrated the grand opening of its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). OI DRC is seeking to provide affordable financial services to the country’s working poor through a network of community banks.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ericsson Mobile Money Service Grows to Serve Thousands of Users in Several Currencies
Ericsson, a Sweden-based telecommunications company, has launched an international money transfer and payment service via internet and mobile phone. Ericsson began a pilot program in September 2010 involving 50 service delivery partners in six European countries and the Philippines and is in the process of scaling operations. As of May 2011, the program serves thousands of users with several currencies. Detailed numbers are not available.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNICEF Develops Network of Communal Banks in Bolivia in Effort to Provide Subsidized Microfinance to Poorest
UNICEF, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund, has developed a network of 70 bancos comunales (communal banks) in rural Bolivia to deliver microfinance services to excluded and impoverished people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Islamic Microfinance Can Spur Development, Argues Khan from Care International UK
Mr Ajaz Khan, microfinance adviser for nonprofit organization Care International UK, suggests in an article on the “Poverty matters blog” on the website of the UK’s Guardian newspaper that Islamic microfinance has strong potential to support socioeconomic development.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxfam America, World Food Program (WFP) Offer Crop Microinsurance for Ethiopian Farmers in Return for Labor
Oxfam America, a subsidiary of UK-based relief agency Oxfam International, and the World Food Program (WFP), a unit of the United Nations (UN), have developed a crop insurance initiative that allows Ethiopian farmers to acquire microinsurance policies in return for either cash or labor, extending WFP’s existing food-and-cash-for-work program [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mercy Corps Announces Partnership With Philippine BPI Globe BanKO to Extend Mobile Banking to 1m Microfinance Clients
Mercy Corps, a US-based relief and development nonprofit, has announced plans to fund a USD 1 million partnership with BPI Globe BanKO, a savings bank in the Philippines, to expand the uptake of mobile banking services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroInsurance Centre Launches Microinsurance Learning and Knowledge (MILK) Project with $2m Grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The MicroInsurance Centre, a for-profit initiative of the MicroSave technical assistance company, recently announced the launch of the Microinsurance Learning and Knowledge (MILK) Project, supported by a USD 2 million grant from the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Launches Social Performance Management (SPM) Toolkit for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
MicroSave, a private consulting company that provides technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently launched its social performance management (SPM) toolkit to assist MFIs and their stakeholders in determining how closely an MFI’s operations are aligned with its social objectives.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Africa Investor Hosts Investors’ Summit on Social Investing and Social Enterprise in Africa, Capetown, South Africa, May 3, 2011
Event Name: Investors’ Summit on Social Investing and Social Enterprise in Africa – Incorporating Sukuma Afrika Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Awards
Event Date: May 3, 2011
Event Location: Capetown, South Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Barclays Joins ‘Business Call to Action’ Initiative, Commits to Linking 60,000 Members of African ‘Banking on Change’ Village Savings and Loan Associations to Traditional Bank Accounts
Barclays, a London-based international financial services provider, recently announced its commitment to the ‘Business Call to Action” (BCtA) initiative, a global initiative that aims to support the private sector in meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of Fiji to Take Microfinance “Expos” to Rural Islands
Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), the nation’s central banking authority, has announced plans to take microfinance expos to the outer rural islands Fiji in an effort to raise awareness of microfinance and promote greater financial inclusion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP Launches Islamic Microfinance Blog Series Featuring Finalists of Global Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010: Al Amal of Yemen, Tanzania ecoVolunteerism, Bisma of Indonesia and Tameer, CWCD of Pakistan
The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), is featuring a series on Islamic microfinance that profiles the winner and finalists of the Islamic Microfinance Challenge and others in an effort to engage with the broader microfinance and Islamic finance communities to find new ways to support the Islamic microfinance sector. The Islamic Microfinance Series can be found at http://microfinance.cgap.org/category/blog-series/islamic-microfinance-series/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), MicroSave Publish “Deposit: Assessment in India” in Support of Increasing Savings Microfinance in India
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and MicroSave, a for-profit microfinance training and technical resource center based in India, recently published a report entitled “Deposit: Assessment in India,” that argues in favor of supporting microsavings services for low-income individuals in India as a way to increase utilization of financial services.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Fourth Annual Convergences 2015 – Working Towards the Millennium Development Goals, Paris, France, May 3-5, 2011
Event Name: Fourth Annual Convergences 2015 – Working Towards the Millennium Development Goals
Event Date: May 3 – May 5, 2011
Event Location: City Hall, Paris, France
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF) of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Accepting Applications for Fellowship Until March 31, 2011
The Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF), an initiative of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Social Finance Program, recently announced six new openings in its fellowship program. The fellowships aim to increase the number of qualified microinsurance professionals by providing mainstream insurance professionals with an opportunity to apply their expertise in microinsurance. The application deadline for the fellowship is March 31, 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Tanzania Announces Microfinance Fund for Affordable Housing
In its effort to address a housing shortage in the country, the government of Tanzania recently announced a plan to launch a housing microfinance fund to provide affordable housing options to low-income individuals. The fund, the size of which has not been disclosed, aims to reduce the number of slums and address the shortage of housing capacity in the Tanzanian cities of Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza.
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.