by David Dillon -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship: A Paradigm Shift for Skill Development; February 27-28, 2015; New Delhi, India

Event Name: Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship: A Paradigm Shift for Skill Development

Event Date: February 27-28, 2015

Event Location: Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Kanpur Kalan, Sonepat, India

Cost: The cost to register is INR 5,000 for Indians and USD 250 for those from other countries. Discounts are available for academics and all who register by December 31. Registration closes January 31.

Summary of Event: The hosts of this conference invite academicians, policy makers and representatives of NGOs to work together to promote the adoption of policies for creating economically and financially enabling environments in developing countries. It is also meant to serve as a platform for economists, administrators and practitioners to address issues relating to entrepreneurial microfinance and financial inclusion. Participants will discuss strategies for eradicating poverty and strengthening growth through microentrepreneurship.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, Creation Investments, DEG, International Finance Corporation (IFC), FMO Acquire 40% Equity Stake in India’s Equitas for $51.4m

The Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), which is owned by the UK government; Creation Investments Capital Management (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company; Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution offering long-term project and company financing; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced that they will invest a total of INR 325 cores (USD 51.4 million) to acquire 40 percent of the shares of Equitas Holdings, an Indian microfinance lender.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Invest $11m in Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, India

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset management group C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that it disbursed credits totaling approximately USD 11 million from its two Vision Microfinance funds, the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance and the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance Local Currency, to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico and India.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Provide $71m to Government of India for Banking, Clean Energy, Water and Sanitation

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, recently committed up to USD 71 million to the Government of India to support the country’s banking, clean energy and water and sanitation sectors.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF) Loans $3.1m to India’s IntelleGrow for Loans to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises

The Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF), a Netherlands-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently loaned EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.1 million) to IntelleGrow, an Indian nonbank financial company that specializes in making loans to small and medium-sized “social enterprises” in the agriculture, clean energy, education, financial, healthcare, sanitation and water sectors.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citi Foundation Donates $2m to 7 Initiatives for Financial Education, Capacity Building in India

The Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup that promotes financial inclusion and other initiatives, recently announced that it has issued the first disbursement from its “Innovation Grant Program”[1] with the aim of increasing its impact in India.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Invest $8.5m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Ecuador, India

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset management group C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that it disbursed credits totaling approximately USD 8.5 million from its two Vision Microfinance funds, the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance and the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance Local Currency, to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Ecuador, and India.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s PNB Housing Finance Borrows $50m from International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Mortgages for Low-Income Families

PNB Housing Finance Limited (“PNB Housing”), a subsidiary of the India-based, government-controlled Punjab National Bank (PNB), recently accepted a loan of USD 50 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Issues $8.7m in Bonds to India’s Satin, $6.8m to Cambodia’s Prasac, $2.7m to MicroCred China

Symbiotics Group, a Swiss for-profit provider of microfinance-related and other investment services, recently issued impact bonds in the amount of USD 8.75 million to Satin, a microfinance institution based in Delhi, India; USD 6.78 million to Prasac, a  microfinance  institution offering financial services to people with low incomes in Cambodia; and USD 2.75 million to MicroCred China, a unit of France-based MicroCred Group.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROFINANCE EVENTS: Inclusive Finance India Summit, December 8-9, 2014; Livelihoods Asia Summit, December 10-11, 2014, New Delhi, India

Event Names: Inclusive Finance India Summit; Livelihoods Asia Summit

Event Dates: December 8-9 and December 10-11, 2014, respectively

Event Location: New Delhi, India

by Aliz Crowley -

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Announces Finalists for Fifth European Microfinance Award for Environmental Products: ESAF Investments of India, Kompanion of Kyrgyzstan, XacBank of Mongolia

The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network of approximately 130 microfinance organizations and individuals, has announced that there are three finalists for the Fifth European Microfinance Award, which is themed “Microfinance and the Environment” for 2014[1].

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FirstRand Bank Downscaling into Microfinance in Suburban Mumbai, India

Under a pilot project named “Easy Banking,” FirstRand Bank, a commercial bank based in South Africa, is providing financial services to shops and other small businesses in areas of suburban Mumbai, such as Bandra and Lokhandwala, based on the rationale that competition is too fierce in areas with higher population densities.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha, D.S.K. Rao; published by Microcredit Summit Campaign, Freedom from Hunger

“Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha and D.S.K. Rao; published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign and Freedom from Hunger; 2014; 36 pages; available at http://microcreditsummit.org/uploads/resource/document/ffh_indiareport_2014_web_58274.pdf

This paper builds on a report entitled “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: Harnessing the Strengths of Two Sectors to Improve Health and Alleviate Poverty”, which was written in 2012 by a group of authors that includes those who wrote “Volume Two.”

by Hope Gitangu -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd International Workshop on Inclusive Finance, October 31 – November 2, 2014, Jamshedpur, India

Event Name: 3rd International Workshop on Inclusive Finance: Making Finance and Insurance Markets Work for the Poor

Event Date: October 31 – November 2, 2014

Event Location: Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, India

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s New Financial Inclusion Plan Seeks to Bring Every Household Bank Account, Pension, Insurance

Mr Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, reportedly announced the launch of a new financial inclusion program, entitled “Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,” which means “Prime Minister’s People’s Wealth Mission”[1] and is intended to extend “banking, credit, insurance and pension services”[1] to every household in the country.