The most exciting announcement so far to come out of the Global MicroCredit Summit, is a Grameen Foundation technology initiative called Mifos which has already been around for a while, but is being promoted at the big conference. Mifos is an open source platform for microfinance information technology.
Open Source describes a computer programming language that is available without fees for customization and development of specific needs.
Event Name: Inclusive Microfinance Conference 2014
Event Dates: November 11-12, 2014
Event Location: Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala, Uganda
Aspekt, a Macedonia-based information and computer technology company, recently signed a deal to provide their microfinance portfolio management software tool, “Microfinance Software Solution,” to Credit Plus, a Georgia-based microfinance institution (MFI).
Grameen Foundation India, a subsidiary of the US-based Grameen Foundation that promotes access to microfinance and technological services, has launched an iteration of the Progress Out of Poverty Index (PPI), a tool that measures poverty levels of groups and individuals, for India.
Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization that aims to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) replicate Grameen Bank’s joint-liability lending model, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance, have issued a USD 1 million joint guarantee to support Proempresa, a Peru-based MFI.
Event Name: Technology and Microfinance Colloquium
Event Date: June 23, 2011
Event Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Event Location: The Microsoft NERD Center, Horace Mann Room, One Memorial Drive, Suite 100, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, has announced that it will increase its efforts to improve human capital management strategies at socially-focused microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India with USD 550,000 in funding from Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of global financial services provider Citigroup; The McGraw-Hill Companies, a US-based owner of rating agency Standard and Poor’s; and The Capital Group, a US-based group of investment management companies [1].
Nuru International, a US-based outfit that seeks to empower poor people in the Kuria district of Kenya through access to clean water, food, healthcare, education and microfinance, recently began using the Mifos 2.0 cloud-based management information system (MIS), a software tool designed for microfinance institutions (MFIs), and M-PESA, a cellphone-to-cellphone money management service, to increase access to basic financial services for rural households in Kuria.
Grameen Koota, a division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, has raised INR 35 crore (USD 7.71 million) of debt capital through the issuance of secured, redeemable, nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) to Developing World Markets Limited, a member of US-based asset manager and investment bank Developing World Markets (DWM) Group.
Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL), a non-banking financial company that offers microfinance products and training services in India, recently appointed Mr Udaya Kumar to serve as its Chief Executive Officer.
Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, recently announced the issuance of standards of use for its Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI), a tool developed by Grameen for tracking and reporting poverty data as reported by MicroCapital on February 26, 2009.
Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, recently announced it is a winner and recipient of a $200,000 funding award from the Members Project by American Express, a global consumer services company, and TakePart, a social action network of people.
Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with total assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned USD 3.65 million to three Indian microfinance institution (MFIs). Grameen Koota, a division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited founded in 1999, received INR 115 million (USD 2.02 million). Share MACTS (Mutually Aided Co-operative Thrift Society), an Indian credit union founded in 1995 that reported March 2010 total assets of USD 2.05 million, received INR 30 million (USD 527,000). Hope Foundation, an Indian MFI founded in 2005, received INR 25 million (USD 439,000). Current financial information for Hope Foundation is not available.
Grameen Koota, an Indian microfinance institution, is seeking to raise INR 1 billion (USD 21 million) and is reportedly planning to close a deal in the next several months.
Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned INR 315 million (USD 6.8 million) to three Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs): Cashpor, SMILE and Grameen FSPL (Grameen Koota).
Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution also known as Grameen Koota, has raised INR 20 crore (USD 4.27 million) from a sale of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to MicroVest I LP, a US-based private equity fund.
Grameen Koota, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI) that is a division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, has raised equity capital worth INR 27.5 crore, the equivalent of over USD 5.88 million [1,2].
The funds were raised through investments from four funds: Italy’s MicroVentures SpA, Luxmbourg’s MicroVentures Investments (an affiliate of MicroVentures SpA), Belgium’s Incofin, and Aavishkaar Goodwell, an “Indian-Dutch joint venture” [3,4,5]. This is Grameen Koota’s second round of equity funding, after receiving an equity investment in 2008 of INR 9.2 crore, the equivalent at the time of over USD 2.3 million, from Aavishkaar Goodwell [6]. According to Suresh Krishna, the Managing Director of Grameen Koota, this investment will be used to increase the MFI’s number of borrowers in the Indian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, to expand lending to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh, and to “invest in technology development” [1,7].
A recent press release announced that MFIs Grameen Koota of Bangalore, India and Enda Inter-Arabe of Tunis, Tunisia are working with consultants recommend Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to these MFIs [1]. ERP refers to the integration of an organization’s data and processes into one single system [2]. This process is meant to help the MFIs integrate better with Mifos, an open source information platform.