The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the development arm of the United Nations, a humanitarian organization promoting peace and better living standards, in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the United Nations’ investment capital and technical advice program, and CARE International, a Swiss non-governmental organization, has completed a week-long financial training program for 100 women representing five community-based organizations in Liberia.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Plan for New Law to Regulate Microfinance Sector in Uganda Announced
A new law to regulate the microfinance sector in Uganda is expected before the reading of the 2010/2011 budget in June [1]. The plan was announced by Ruth Nankabirwa, the microfinance state minister at the third Financial Inclusion Advisors Conference recently hosted in the capital, Kampala. According to Ms. Nankabirwa, membership in the microfinance sector has grown from 644,318 in 2008 to 1,154,715 in 2009. A large proportion of funds within the sector are unregulated – there are over 1,340 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Uganda that are not regulated. Ms. Nankabirwa argues that regulating the microfinance sector will increase consumer confidence and encourage more people to use its services.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: “African Mobile Micro-Finance & M-Remittances Summit” Conference Hosted by BSP Events and Forums May 10 – May 11, 2010 in Ikoyi, Lagos
Event Name: African Mobile Micro-Finance & M-Remittances Summit
Event Date: May 10 – May 11, 2010
Event Location: Ikoyi, Lagos
Event Website: http://www.bspmediagroup.com/event.php?EID=58
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Developments in the Past Year of Microfinance Regulation Coverage by Microcapital.org
Microfinance regulation has provided rich fodder for reporting over the past twelve months of coverage by Microcapital.org. Nearly twelve months ago, in November 2008, Microcapital.org reported on the World Economic Forum’s Inaugural Summit on the challenges posed by regulatory frameworks as policy makers grappled with the question of how to advance microfinance. Since that time, there have been a number of international agencies as well as developed country governments involved in researching and collaborating on guidelines for the strengthening of microfinance regulation. On the other hand, there have also been doubts about the relevance of regulation to microfinance sector:
NEWS WIRE: United States: In Harvard International Review, Eric Thurman Argues “Africa Needs Microfinance”
Source: Harvard International Review.
NEWS WIRE: Microfinance: The way forward for poverty eradication
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Echosys, Rgreen Raise $93m for Solar Power for SMEs in Africa via Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund
Two French firms, Echosys Invest and Rgreen Invest, recently announced the first close of their Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund with EUR 88 million (USD 93 million) to finance solar power plants for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The fund will focus on Central and West Africa, and it is to include local-currency financing for projects in
SPECIAL REPORT: How to Achieve Responsible Digital Financial Services: European Microfinance Week Opens
At the opening plenary of European Microfinance Week, where over 500 attendees are gathering now in-person and online, Tidhar Wald of the UN’s Better Than Cash Alliance noted that over 1 billion more people worldwide have achieved financial inclusion over the past decade. While this has helped some to boost their livelihoods, many have accessed financial services via digital services, which carry different risks than in-person services. Data protection is an obvious example, as more client data is being digitized, and fraud is on the rise. Other risks, even though well-known to providers of in-person financial services, require different
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cybercrime Up During Pandemic As FSP Clients, Staff Increase Usage of Digital Payments, Remote Technologies
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital payment services has risen, leading to an increase in fraud and thus a renewed urgency to educate and otherwise protect consumers of these services. Financial services providers also are boosting their vigilance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Launches Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility in Effort to Bring 332m People – Mostly Women – into Formal Economy
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent, recently announced the launch of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion (ADFI) facility, a “financing facility designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion across Africa, with a goal of ensuring that 332 million more Africans, of whom 60 percent
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: How the Private Sector Can Boost Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa; the Role of Impact Investing in Achieving SDGs in Africa; Documenting Reforms to “Doing Business”
Entreprenante Afrique; by Jean-Michel Severino and Jérémy Hajdenberg; published in French by Odile Jacob; September 2016; 288 pages; available for purchase at: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=_vslDQAAQBAJ&rdid=book-_vslDQAAQBAJ&rdot=1&source=gbs_vpt_buy&pcampaignid=books_booksearch_atb
Jean-Michel Severino and Jérémy Hajdenberg argue that the 5-percent average annual growth rate Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced since 2000 is being driven significantly by the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microcred Senegal Raises $5.6m on African Bond Market
Microcred Senegal, a for-profit affiliate of the France-based NGO Positive Planet, recently issued its first bond, raising CFA 3.7 billion (USD 5.6 million) in the African market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DiD) to Provide Microfinance to Food Producers in Senegal in Partnership with Micronutrient Initiative
Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a Canadian nonprofit supporting the community finance sector in emerging economies, recently joined the “Project integer de nutrition dans les regions de Kedougou et Kolda (PINKK)”, which is aimed at increasing food security for women and children in the Senegalese regions of Kedougou and Kolda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DiD) Opens Fifth Entrepreneur Financial Center to Offer Microcredit in Tunisia
Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a Canadian nonprofit supporting the community finance sector in emerging economies, has officially opened the Centre financier financial aux entrepreneurs de Tunisie, which is known in English as the Entrepreneur Financial Center of Tunisia (EFC Tunisia).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DID) to Establish 4 More Entrepreneur Financial Centers in Tunisia, Elsewhere in Africa, Latin America
Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian nonprofit providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies, has announced that it will establish four new entrepreneur financial centers (EFCs) in Africa and Latin America.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Argentina’s Banco Macro Launches “Alumbra” Business, Mortgage Loans for Micro-, Small Enterprises via Fundacion Macro
Banco Macro, a private bank in Argentina, recently announced that it has launched “Alumbra,”[1] a lending vehicle for micro- and small enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Postal Service Azerpoçt to Provide Microcredit in Azerbaijan
Azerpoçt, Azerbaijan’s government-backed postal service provider, reportedly intends to apply for a license to provide microcredit services from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.
SPECIAL REPORT: Women Microfinance Clients Often Save More, Are More Loyal to Lenders
At today’s session on gender at European Microfinance Week in Luxembourg, panelists eschewed the idea that lenders have a moral obligation to serve a greater proportion of women. Instead, Anne-Marie Chidzero of South Africa and Anna Gincherman of the US-based Women’s World Banking (WWB) network both argued strenuously that lenders are leaving money on the table by failing to reach out to women.