Microfinance Event: Second Annual Microfinance Investment Summit, October 6-7, 2009, London United Kingdom, Sponsored by Incofin
Second Annual Microfinance Investment Summit, October 6-7, 2009, London, United Kingdom, Sponsored by Incofin
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
The CGAP Microfinance Dealbook publicizes microfinance capital market transactions in an effort to bring greater transparency to the industry. This information is made freely available as a public service. Parties to microfinance transactions are encouraged to submit their deals to this effort. The following deals were collected for April 2009:
The CGAP Microfinance Dealbook publicizes microfinance capital market transactions in an effort to bring greater transparency to the industry. This information is made freely available as a public service. Parties to microfinance transactions are encouraged to submit their deals to this effort. The following deals were collected for March 2009:
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has extended a USD 10 million soft loan to the Development and Employment Fund (DEF) in Jordan to develop microfinance in the country. The IDB consists of 56 countries that are all members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and contribute to the bank’s capital. In addition to facilitating trade among member countries, the IDB grants loans and provides funding for social and economic development projects in member countries. Because the financial operations of the IDB are intended to be consistent with Shariah law, the IDB also provides technical assistance and training in Shariah banking practices. For more information on the how Shariah law affects banking practices in general and microfinance in particular, see this MicroCapital Paper Wrap-Up. The IDB was founded at the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries in Jeddah in December 1973 and commenced operations in October 1975. The DEF is a public government fund that commenced operations in 1991 with the objective of promoting independent employment and developing the small business sector. Initially under the government’s Industrial Development Bank, the DEF has been independently managed since 1992.
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), founded by the Dutch government in 1970 to support the private sector in developing countries, invests in microfinance as a way to stimulate sustainable economic growth. Between January 2007 and March 2009, FMO has invested at least USD 160 million in microfinance services around the world.
By Ralitsa Sapundzhieva and Olga Tomilova, published by the Microfinance Information Exchange Inc. (MIX), February 2009, 31 pages, available at:
http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/2008%20Eastern%20Europe%20Cent…
KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW), a development bank that finances investments on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has made significant contributions to the microfinance sector in recent years. Between January 2007 and April 2009, KfW has invested at least USD 250 million in microfinance services around the world, with its outstanding commitments to the sector likely making that number even higher.
International Insurance Society’s 45th Annual Seminar: Maintaining Sustainability in a Changing World
June 7-10, 2009, Amman, Jordan
Macro to Micro: Performance of Investment in Microfinance in the Current Financial Crisis moderated by Andrea M Esposito, Managing Director (Standard and Poor’s NY) and sponsored by the Financial Women’s Associate of New York (FWA), Microfinance Club of New York.
May 7, 2009, at the McGraw-Hill Companies, Rockefeller Center, New York.
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, has sent a questionnaire to over 1,300 microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America in an attempt to develop a standardized measurement of social performance. Designed to evaluate social performance, the survey consists of 22 core indicators covering topics such as client poverty level, progress out of poverty, product design, and institutional policies and procedures.
Published by the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, “Setting Standards and Sticking to Them: When Microfinance Network NGOs Decide to Exit,” is a collection of four case studies, each written by a different author, that focus on the central theme of exit strategies for microfinance network NGOs. Broadly speaking, microfinance network NGOs are large-scale apex organizations that start-up and/or support microfinance operations in different countries with financial investments and grants, capacity building, and monitoring. The first three case studies discuss the processes underwent by the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF), Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), and the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) to divest from their respective microfinance operations in a particular country. The fourth outlines the general process in which Women’s World Banking (WWB) disaffiliates from a microfinance subsidiary. Full text of the article is 31 pages, and is available here. What follows is a brief summary of each case study.
In 2003 the Government of Afghanistan, along with international agencies, initiated the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) under the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development. The World Bank was the main international agency involved in creating the organization, with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) acting as a key advisor. MISFA’s purpose is to act as an apex organization to foster a nascent microfinance sector by channeling financial support and technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating on the ground. It has three main goals (p2): (1) Coordinate donor funding so that the conflicting donor priorities that are endemic in post-conflict situations do not end up duplicating effort and distorting markets; (2) Help young MFIs scale up rapidly by offering performance-based funding for operations and technical assistance; (3) Build systems for transparent reporting to instill a culture of accountability. Since March 2006, MISFA has been operating outside the government as an independent entity (p239), because CGAP’s experience in the microfinance sector has shown that independence of government promotes effectiveness and efficiency.
Written by Dean S. Karlan, the President and Founder of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Professor of Economics at Yale University, and Martin Valdivia of The Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), this report is based on a study conducted in a Peruvian village to assess the impact of business training on microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their clients. The 44 page document was published by the Economic Growth Center, Yale University in July 2006 and the full text of the report is available here.
The Microcredit Summit Campaign revealed that more than 106 million of the world’s poorest received a microloan in 2007. The finding is a product of the Microcredit Summit Campaign’s annual survey of microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. The 106 million are made up of individuals who, at the time of receiving their first loan, were either at the bottom half of those below their nation´s poverty line, or living on less than USD 1 per day (adjusted for purchasing power parity).
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg based microfinance fund has agreed to lend EUR 5 million to TTK Banka A.D. Skopje (TTK), a commercial bank based in Skopje, Macedonia as part of a loan agreement to help TTK further expand its outreach to micro and small entrepreneurs in the Republic of Macedonia. In a news release found on the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management website, Nikolche Petkoski, a member of the Board of Directors at TTK said that the loan, which would help TTK to support and increase access to finance for micro and small businesses in Macedonia, was particularly important during the present ‘times of economic uncertainty’.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated USD 700 thousand in the form of a grant to the Microcredit Summit Campaign‘s (MSC) project entitled “Movement Above the US One Dollar Per Day Threshold“. The funds will be used to form expert panels who will develop credible methodologies for determining the number of microfinance clients who have crossed the USD 1 a day threshold between 1990 and the current year. The funds will also be used to research and produce studies based on the recommendations of these panels. A Bangladesh Expert Panel has already convened, an India Expert Panel is currently being formed, and an Ethiopia Expert Panel is being planned for 2009. While this is the first time the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided funding to the Microcredit Summit Campaign, it has previously provided funding to the RESULTS Educational Fund, MSC’s founding organization.
Founded in 1999, Neptune Software Plc is a banking software provider. The UK-based company has over 170 employees and offices in the UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and India. Neptune partners with technology leaders such as BEA, Oracle, Sybase, IBM, and Business Objects. While Neptune also provides financial services software to the broader financial services industry, the company has created a niche with microfinance institutions. In Nigeria, Neptune has partnered with over 45 successful microfinance institutions. In 2005, CGAP awarded the company the highest rating, 4 stars, for its operational excellence.
MARCH 19 TO MARCH 20, 2009, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Uniglobal Research, a business events firm for various industries in the financial sector, will host its second Annual Microfinance Forum in Spring of 2009 in Vienna, Austria. The conference will touch upon all of the following topics: how global trends and imbalances affect the microfinance industry; successful business models in low-income markets; including the world’s poor as investors, producers, sellers, and buyers; common standards for the microfinance industry; mobile banking for the poor; retail microfinance; and micro (life) insurance. The event has been billed to various groups, including: microfinance institutions (MFIs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), commercial banks, research institutions, technology providers, and other public sector organizations. Uniglobal Research hopes participants will learn about the current activities and future plans of international commercial banks with respect to microfinance, capture lessons from relevant project experiences, and gain unique perspectives on how to align social issues with corporate strategy.