The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) focuses on health, education, culture, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor. In Afghanistan, AKDN’s projects include large-scale rural development, health, education and civil society programs. Through one of its nine operating agencies, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) also provides microfinance services in the rehabilitation of historic neighborhoods in Kabul and Herat. A key product development priority for AKAM began in 2007 with the development of the Housing Product Initiatives program in Afghanistan, via the First MicroFinance Bank (FMFB) of Afghanistan with additional assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
Search Results for: microfinance financial crisis
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Hyderbad-based Spandana Microfinance Seeks to Raise Rs 300 Crore (USD 63.7 million) by June
According to a press release in The Economic Times of India, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd. is set to raise Rs. 300 Crore (USD 63.7 million) in equity funding and is currently in talks with over two dozen investors. The deal would raise the company’s valuation to Rs. 1,800 Crore (USD 382.2 million). Spandana intends to use the funds to expand and strengthen its capital adequacy ratio. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its capital adequacy requirements (CRAR) for non-bank financial institutions last August, requiring institutions to meet a 12 percent CRAR by April 2009 and a 15 percent CRAR by April 2010. Spandana’s CRAR stood at 19.5 percent last fiscal year. To read a MicroCapital story on the RBI’s new regulations, click here. Currently Mumbai-based JM Financial holds an 18 percent stake in the microfinance institution, private equity fund Valiant holds 11 percent, Lok Capital has a 5 percent stake and another 15 percent is held by senior employees, with this round of funding their stakes will be diluted.
NEWS WIRE: United States: Poverty Action Lab Study Indicates Microfinance “Comes Up Short”
MICROCAPITAL STORY: State Bank of Pakistan Directs Shareholders of Microfinance Institutions to Deposit Their Shares in Blocked Accounts of the Central Depository Company of Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has recently issued a circular that requires shareholders of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to deposit their holdings in blocked accounts of the Central Depository Company (CDC) of Pakistan. Prior written approval is required before withdrawing the shares from the CDC, and the cost of opening and operating the blocked accounts will be borne by the shareholders.
NEWS WIRE: Eastern Europe: Crisis In Microfinance Sector
Source: Reuters
MICROFINANCE EVENT: XII FOROMIC 2009: Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise
Microfinance Event: XII FOROMIC 2009: Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise
FOROMIC 2009: Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise, September 30 – October 2, 2009, Arequipa, Peru, Sponsored by the Multilateral Investment Fund, Organized by the Inter-American Development Bank
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL STORY: PT Danamon Optimistic About Microfinance Growth in Second Quarter 2009
PT Bank Danamon, the fifth largest bank in Indonesia by assets, expects loan growth may exceed 10 percent in the second quarter after key economic indicators painted a better-than-expected picture for 2009. According to Danamon President Director Sebastian Paredes, the bank originally expected growth to be lower than 10 percent in 2009 and the first half of the year to be very difficult. “We now feel the second half will be better because interest rates will continue to decrease. First-quarter gross domestic product was also not as low as we expected and our microfinance growth was better than predicted.” Paredes added that beyond 2010 the bank believed loan growth would be as fast it was in the past five years and that loan growth would likely center around microfinance, consumer lending, and small- and medium-sized enterprises
PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Funds Continue to Grow Despite the Crisis, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
By Xavier Reille and Jasmina Glisovic-Mezieres, CGAP, with research assistance from Yannis Berthouzoz, Symbiotics, published by Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), April 2009, CGAP Brief, 4 pages, available at:
http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.34437/CGAP%20Brief_MIV_FinancialCrisis.pdf
MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Managers Consider Online Funding: Is it Finance, Marketing, or Something Else Entirely? by Deborah Burand
Written by Deborah Burand, published in April 2009 as Focus Note Number 54 by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), 12 pages, full text available at: http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.34243/FN54.pdf
As online platforms change the way we engage with the world, online philanthropy and social investing are changing the nature of how and where people give. In this CGAP Focus Note, Deborah Burand explores the growth of online lending and investment platforms – websites that lend money raised from internet users to microfinance institutions (MFIs) that, in turn, onlend to microentrepreneurs listed on the site – and highlights issues that MFIs may want to consider before signing up for a loan online.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Labour Organization (ILO) Summer Academy on Sustainable Enterprise Development
Event Name: Summer Academy on Sustainable Enterprise Development
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: EUR 4000 (USD 5600) including course fees, full board, lodging, and insurance.
Summary of Event: The ILO Summer Academy on Sustainable Enterprise Development is a two week course that offers participants an overview of the existing tools and knowledge base in the enterprise development field, with an emphasis on the role of the private sector in social and economic development.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: African Development Bank Group, Agence Française de Développement Group, European Investment Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, KfW Bankengruppe, Islamic Development Bank Group, and World Bank Group Launch USD 15bn Joint Action Plan for Africa Including Support for Microfinance Programs
Seven international financial institutions (IFIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) have announced a Joint IFI/DFI Action Plan to respond to the Financial Crisis in Africa (Joint Action Plan). In a communiqué signed at the annual meeting of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in Dakar, Senegal, the organizations jointly pledged to increase commitments by at least USD 15 billion in the next two to three years. Among goals such as promoting trade and increasing funding for infrastructure and agribusiness, the Joint Action Plan also allocates significant funding to strengthen the financial sector and support micro, small and medium enterprises in the region affected by the global economic slowdown.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invest $ 7.4 million (16.4 percent equity stake) in Microfinance Institution Caja Nuestra Gente of Peru
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced that it will invest USD 7.4 million (a 16.4 percent participation/stake) in Microlender Caja Nuestra Gente, a Microfinance Institution serving 170,000 clients microlending in Peru. The IFC investment is also aimed to promote the growth and expansion of the Fundación BBVA para las Microfinanzas (owner of microlender, Caja Nuestra Gente) in Peru and Peruvian rural geographies. The IFC provides investments and advisory services to build the private sector in developing countries. Terms of the IFC’s investment are not provided. According to the IFC, Caja Nuestra Gente loan portfolio is currently at USD 146 million (average loan of USD 1,506 dollars) and presently serves 170,000 borrowers from low-income economies. Caja Nuestra Gente’s largest funder is Fundación BBVA para las Microfinanzas.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Will the Bottom of the Pyramid Hit Bottom? The Effects of the Global Credit Crisis on the Microfinance Sector, by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
By Barbara Magnoni and Olga Jennifer Powers of EA Consultants, published by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), March 2009, microReport number 150, 54 pages, available at:
The produced report by USAID provides an assessment on the impact of the financial crisis on the microfinance sector. The paper provides a framework for assessing the impact of the crisis on the microfinance sector by analyzing the effects on both the liabilities side (access to finance, cost of funding, financial risk) and the asset side (portfolio growth, portfolio risk, portfolio quality) of an MFI’s (Microfinance Institutions) balance sheet in order to determine the extent that MFIs may have been impacted.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Cambodian Microfinance Institutions’ Non-Performing Loans Rise Again
Huot Ieng Thong, President of the Cambodian Microfinance Association, has announced that non-performing loans (NPLs) at Cambodian microfinance institutions (MFIs) rose again to 2.5 percent from around 1 percent in the first four months of the year. This compares to less than 1 percent for the same period last year. MicroCapital recently reported on the rise of Cambodian NPLs above 1 percent and the generally high level of disclosure by Cambodian MFIs. To read the story click here.
NEWS WIRE: Middle East & North Africa: Microfinance Institutions Unaffected by Global Economic Meltdown
Source: The Daily Star
MICROCAPITAL STORY: VG Microfinance – Invest Nr. 1 GmbH’s senior CDO notes downgraded by Fitch Ratings from ‘BBB’ to ‘BB+’ (assigned a Negative Outlook) with Deutsche Bank AG in its role as seller and protection buyer
Fitch has confirmed a downgrade of VG Microfinance – Invest Nr. 1 GmbH’s senior CDO notes to ‘BB+’ and assigned a Negative Outlook. According to Fitch, the downgrade of the senior CDO notes is the result of the rating agency’s concern for the political uncertainty and sharp asset deterioration of the Nicaraguan MFI, Asociación de Consultores para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña, Mediana y Microempresa (ACODEP’s) loan book. ACODEP currently represents 8.8 percent of the portfolio with default risks that have materially increased.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: United Nations International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) provides $13.7m to Cameroon for Microfinance Development
The International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD), a United Nations agency based in Rome, will support rural microfinance in Cameroon, West Africa, with a USD 13.5 million loan and USD 200,000 grant. The money will support the IFAD Rural Microfinance Development Support project whose overall goal is to reduce poverty, increase incomes and support the livelihoods of poor in rural areas. The project targets rural populations in the centre, extreme north, north-west and western regions of Cameroon, where access to suitable financial services is difficult. Currently a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) exist in these areas. The project is aimed at young people, especially women; smallholder farmers and microenterprises.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: K-Rep Bank of Kenya Receives $2.2m Microfinance Investment from the African Development Bank (AfDB)
K-Rep Bank, a commercial bank that directly targets low income clients in Kenya, received a Kshs 174.8 million (USD 2.2 million) investment from the African Development Bank (AfDB) during May 2009. This financial support will also include technical assistance related to capacity building. K-Rep Bank provides various banking services and specializes in loans to low income, small and micro entrepreneurs. K-rep plans to create 10,000 new jobs by 2011 of which 55 percent would involve women entrepreneurs.