The Committee of Banking Supervisors of West and Central Africa, an organization that supervises credit establishments and sets prudential banking legislation in western and central Africa, announced earlier this week that starting from 2014, all commercial banks including microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), a subsidiary of the African Union [1], will need to have capital reserves of USD 20 million.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mayibuye Group Reveals Turnaround Strategy for Blue Financial Services, a South African Microfinance Institution with Presence in 14 Countries
Blue Financial Services, a South African microfinance institution, has entered into an agreement with Mayibuye Group (Pty) Ltd, a South African investment company, to provide ZAR 450 million (USD 58.6 million) in equity and debt financing.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency and The MasterCard Foundation Launch Enabling APR & EIR Program to Promote Transparency in Microfinance in Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries
MFTransparency, a US-based nonprofit that encourages fair and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, and the MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that aims to increase access to microfinance and education, have joined together to launch the Enabling Africa to Price Responsibly & Educate on Interest Rates program (Enabling APR & EIR). The Enabling APR & EIR Program aims to raise awareness of transparent pricing issues in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), A Member of the World Bank Group, Releases Business Report on East African Community (EAC)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has released a report called “Doing Business in the East African Community 2010.” The report examines business regulations in five East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda [1].
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Outlook for Remittance Flows 2010-2011, by Dilip Ratha, Sanket Mohapatra, and Ani Silwal
Written by Dilip Ratha, Sanket Mohapatra, and Ani Silwal, published by The Migration and Remittances Team of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group (DECPG) in April 2010, 18 pages, available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1110315015165/MigrationAndDevelopmentBrief12.pdf
The Migration and Remittances Team of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group (DECPG), an organization providing information and analysis on global economic trends, has published a paper entitled “Outlook for Remittance Flows 2010-2011.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $7.5m in Fanisi Venture Capital Fund, A Luxembourg-Based Fund That Invests in Startups and Existing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in East Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, will invest USD 7.5 million in the Fanisi Venture Capital Fund, a Luxembourg-based fund that invests in East Africa [1,2,3].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG BRIEF: Access Bank Plc. and State of Anambra, Nigeria Launch $16.5m Microfinance Scheme
Access Bank Plc, a Nigerian commercial bank, has agreed to work with the Anambra state government to launch the state’s first microfinance scheme, by providing an equivalent of USD 16.5 million to selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) within the month. State Governor Peter Obi plans to set up workshops at the local government level throughout the state, in order to monitor progress and train operatives on “effective operation of the scheme.” He has also organized a committee, consisting of himself, representatives of the Access Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, microfinance bank operators, and others, who will oversee the program. The criteria for taking out a loan are not based on assets or collateral, but on “proven good character of the borrower.” The MFIs receiving funds are restricting the maximum amount that can be loaned to an individual to be equivalent to USD 3,294.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG PAPER WRAP-UP: Acute Poverty Alleviation Through Women’s Targeting by Micro nance Programs, by Alexandra Dobra
Written by Alexandra Dobra, published in March 2009 by the Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 8 pages, available at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/16874/1/MPRA_paper_16874.pdf
This paper, by Alexandra Dobra of the University of York Department of Politics, is a literature review that attempts to address the merits of female-targeted microfinance [1]. In addition to microfinance, Ms. Dobra has also done research on immigration in developed countries [1,2]. The paper is published by the Munich Personal RePEc Archive, an archive that houses economics papers for authors who want their work to be freely available [3].
PRESS RELEASE: United States: Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Pro Mujer, Women for Women Commit to Giving Microfinance, Business Training to Women at Clinton Global Initiative Meeting
Source: Clinton Global Initiative.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Blue Financial Services in South Africa to Continue Microfinance Growth in Africa But Lessens Pace
Blue Financial Services, the South Africa based microfinance institution (MFI) will remain focused on expansion in Africa and will begin operations in more African countries this year, according to a press release on AllAfrica.com. In this regard, the release quotes Blue’s CEO Dave van Niekerk as saying that Blue’s plans in Africa come despite a slowdown in the ‘pace of its expansion due to the global financial crisis.’ [1]. Per information currently available, Blue’s immediate plans also include the setting up of a branch in Ghana over the next 2 months [2]. (AllAfrica.com is a news and information portal owned by AllAfrica Global Media, a multi-media content service provider, systems technology developer and distributor of African news and information worldwide.)
MICROCAPITAL STORY: PS Microfinance Bank in Nigeria Exposed as Unlicensed and Fake, Bank Closes Operations Abruptly, Several Depositors Lose Huge Amounts of Money
Nigeria based PS Microfinance Bank Limited has closed operations abruptly, leading to heavy financial loses for several of its depositors, as per a press release on The Guardian – Nigeria. According to the release, the bank collected money from ‘almost every trader’ in the Akute area in Nigeria with the promise of providing attractive loans. Following the collection of money, the bank officials are said to have closed down not only their rental office in the Akute region but also their head office in the Ogba region of Nigeria. Officials of the bank have reportedly ‘gone into hiding’ and have been unreachable to both their clients and the press. As stated, the victims of the bank’s fraudulent activities are mostly traders including several women and the total loss for the depositors is estimated to be in the range of millions of Naira; an exact figure of the total amount defrauded by the bank is not currently available. Presently, PS Microfinance Bank does not maintain a web presence nor does it appear to report to MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse; it is however unclear if a website was in fact existent for the bank prior to its closure.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Boosts Lending Portfolio of Sri Lanka’s LB Finance by 40 Percent
According to a report in the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror, LB Finance has announced that 40 percent of its disbursements for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 were in microfinance. The significant portion of its disbursements to microfinance resulted partly from its increased focus on micro-leasing of three-wheeler vehicles and agricultural equipment to the informal economy, as well as an expansion to more remote areas of Sri Lanka where there are limited financial services.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Grameen Foundation and Women’s World Banking Express Concern Over the Potential Crisis in Punjab, Pakistan’s Microfinance Sector
According to the Business Recorder (a Pakistani Daily Newspaper), the Grameen Foundation (GF) and Women’s World Banking (WWB), recently urged Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to take swift action to support the microfinance sector and help curtail inappropriate interventions by local politicians. While detail regarding the exact cause and nature of the elected representatives’ involvement is currently unspecified, President Alex Counts of GF in Washington DC and Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of WWB in New York City, expressed concern. The letter states that heads of the two U.S. non-profit support organizations for microfinance are “concerned that the microfinance sector in Pakistan is under threat. The intervention of some local elected representatives has given rise to a crisis, a situation, which has damaged the reputation of the microfinance sector in Pakistan and could lead to a major crisis with national as well as international implications.”
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Equity Bank Kenya to Cross-List on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) After Acquiring Uganda Microfinance Limited
The CEO of Equity Bank, Dr. James Mwangi, announced that in two months, the bank intends to cross-list on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). In April of 2008, Equity Bank bought 100% stake in Uganda Microfinance Limited, therefore forming Equity Bank Uganda. For more details on this acquisition, please read this Microcapital article. The bank has already lodged its application with the USE and the Capital Markets Authority, Kenya’s market regulator.
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.”
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.
NEWS WIRE: A Stimulus Package for the World
Source: New York Times.
NEWS WIRE: Uganda: Interest rates still high despite competition
Source: Daily Monitor.