Craig Churchill serves as the Chair of the Microinsurance Network and as Senior Technical Officer of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Social Finance Programme.
Search Results for: "United nation"
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Address Lack of Access to Microfinance in Nigeria with $40m Fund for Rural Farmers
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an agency of the United Nations established to eradicate rural poverty in developing countries, and the Nigerian Federal Government have created a microfinance fund worth NGN 6.1 billion (the equivalent of USD 40 million). The funds will be distributed to rural farmers in 12 Nigerian states by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the form of microloans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australia Supports Microfinance with $1.8m Pledge to the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)
The Australian government has agreed to provide AUD 2 million (the equivalent of USD 1.8 million) over the next three years to the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP), a program established with the intent of increasing access to financial services among low-income households in the Pacific Islands.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Z Zurich Foundation Contributes $2.83m to International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility to Provide Grants for Innovative Microinsurance Projects
According to a press release, the Z Zurich Foundation, the arm of the Zurich Financial Services Group focused on social initiatives related to microinsurance, has contributed CHF 3 million, the equivalent of over USD 2.83 million, to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility to provide grants to organizations that are involved with microinsurance [1,2,3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Creates Mandatory Exam for Microfinance Bank Managers
KNOW A MICROFINANCE REGULATOR: Central Bank Authority of Kosovo (CBAK)
Overview:
Established in 2006, the Central Banking Authority of Kosovo (CBAK) is the successor to the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance as a Poverty Reduction Tool – A Critical Assessment by Anis Chowdhury
Written by Anis Chowdhury, Professor of Economics at the University of Western Sydney, Australia and Senior Economic Affairs Officer at United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA); DESA Working Paper No. 89; December 2009; 13 pages, available at www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2009/wp89_2009.pdf
This working paper debates the effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for poverty reduction.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al-Amal Microfinance Bank of Yemen Provides $1.5m in Loans to 5858 Low-Income Individuals in 2009
In 2009, Al-Amal Microfinance Bank, a microcredit bank established in 2002 in Yemen, provided credit of YER 300 million (USD 1.5 million) to 5,858 low-income individuals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Provides $39m to Support Pastoralists in Ethiopia
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, has provided a USD 19.5 million loan and USD 19.5 million grant to Ethiopia to support pastoral and agropastoral households. The project, which will be implemented over five years, is the second phase of a partnership between Ethiopia’s pastoral communities, local and federal governments, IFAD and the International Development Association (IDA) – an arm of the World Bank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Microinsurance Innovation Facility Opens Fourth Round of Innovation Grants
To spur the development of innovative microinsurance products, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Microinsurance Innovation Facility has opened its fourth round of grant funding. Since “insurance providers often lack the know how to reach this market and need to experiment to develop sustainable business models…[these] grants are there to support those risk takers, cover their start up costs and harness lessons learnt,” said Craig Churchill, team leader of the Microinsurance Innovation Facility. Since its founding in 2008, the Facility has provided 34 innovation grants, ranging from USD 20,000 to USD 600,000, to insurance companies, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other microinsurance providers. The deadline for the fourth round of grant proposals is March 2nd, 2010. More information can be found at www.ilo.org/microinsurance.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: MicroInsurance Summit 2010: Evaluating Stategies for Delivery, Partner-Agent Models and Scalability, February 23-25, 2010, Le Meridien Piccadilly, London
Event Name: MicroInsurance Summit 2010: Evaluating Stategies for Delivery, Partner-Agent Models and Scalability
Event Date: February 23-25, 2010
Event Location: Le Meridien Piccadilly, London
Event Website: http://www.hansonwade.com/events/microinsurance-summit-2010/index.shtml
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here:
http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Commits $25m to Fund Rural Microfinance Programme in Mali
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations since 1977, has loaned USD 25 million to the Republic of Mali for the establishment of the Rural Microfinance Programme. The programme will consolidate three existing microfinance networks in the central-western part of Mali, comprising 94 credit unions, and support capacity-building and institutional development within the networks.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: National Conference on Microinsurance on December 10-11, 2009 in New Delhi, India
Event Name: National Conference on Microinsurance
Event Description: The goal of this conference is to facilitate discussions between practitioners, regulators, actuaries, and researchers on issues related to the provision of microinsurance in India, while especially focusing on more vulnerable states with lower Human Development Indices (HDI). Specific topics to be discussed include: (1) Microinsurance issues and innovations regarding weather, health, and other livelihood products, (2) Distribution models: relevance and operational challenges, (3) Role of microinsurance in financial inclusion, and (4) Role of policy makers in facilitating proper environment.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Conclusions from the Global Forum on Remittances Co-Hosted by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and African Development bank (AfDB)
The Global Forum on Remittances, co-hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), recently concluded in Tunis on October 23, 2009. 200 participants involved in remittances attended the forum. The discussion was focused on issues related to workers living abroad who wished to send money back to their families in Africa [1].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: SEWA, SKS Microfinance and The Aryavart Gramin Bank Provide Alternative Power to the Rural Poor
A number of Indian MFI’s now provide loans for cost effective alternative power to people who have little or no access to electricity. With heavy reliance on kerosene and firewood, millions of homes have little or no light after dark. And the time spent collecting firewood or waiting in line to purchase kerosene leaves little time for income generating activities. This makes it difficult for many of the rural and urban poor to elevate themselves out of poverty.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Trade Association Boss Claims China’s Regulations Impede Growth and Calls for Wholesale Microfinance Fund
A recent article by Ms. Wang Xinyuan in the Global Times, a daily Chinese newspaper, commented that despite a growing demand for microfinance in China, government regulations are inhibiting microfinance institutions´ (MFIs) growth [1]. Government regulations state that MFIs are not allowed to accept deposits to finance micro-loans. Additionally, interest rates for MFIs are capped at four times the prime lending rate, which currently stands at 5.31 percent [2].
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Review of Key Microinsurance Information Resources
Microinsurance, an emerging field in microfinance, aims to protect low-income people against risks such as illness, death and natural disasters in exchange for low premiums. As a fairly nascent field, microinsurance-related information is less prevalent than information on the more dominant fields of microfinance like microcredit or microsavings. The following list, however, represents some of the key providers of microinsurance resources today:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Half the World is Unbanked, by Alberto Chaia, Aparna Dalal, Tony Goland, Maria Jose Gonzalez, Johnathan Morduch, and Robert Schiff
Written by Alberto Chaia, Aparna Dalal, Tony Goland, Maria Jose Gonzalez, Johnathan Morduch, and Robert Schiff, Published by the Financial Access Initiative in October 2009, available at: http://financialaccess.org/sites/default/files/110109%20HalfUnbanked_0.pdf
This paper uses improved data on financial usage, socioeconomic, and demographics to construct an accurate estimate of how many adults (older than 15 years) in the world do not use formal financial services. The data sources included the estimates of 2003 access to formal and semi-formal financial services (using data from banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and household surveys) from Patrick Honohan’s 2008 paper “”Cross-country variation in household access to financial services,” 2005 population, per capita income and urbanization data from the United Nation’s Human Development Index, and poverty data from the World Bank’s PovcalNet [1,2,3]. The authors specifically study “usage” of financial services as opposed to “financial access.”