Search Results for: "United nation"

A World Bank-funded project that integrates both HIV education and microfinance initiatives has aimed to provide women in Niger with an opportunity to escape the world of prostitution and start new lives as entrepreneurs, which in turn may help reduce the risk of HIV transmission [1], stated an article from Integrated Regional Information (IRIN) [2], a news agency created by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

For discussion of this topic click here:  http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/deals-in-microfinance-the

The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), an international non-government organization (NGO), will lead a partnership worth USD 15 million in Sierra Leone and Liberia to provide microfinance, healthcare and agricultural support [1, 2]. The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Omidyar Network and Humanity United are funding this project through a combination of grants and equity [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]. BRAC has opened 20 new microfinance branches since March 2009 in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with the first loan being issued in June, and aims to open 20 more by the end of the year [1]. During the two year pilot program it aims to provide loans to tens of thousands of women in these two West Africa countries [1]. Furthermore the project will provide agricultural supplies, training to farmers and 400 community based health volunteers [1].  

For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/rural-microfinance

Centenary Bank of Uganda, a commercial bank with a focus on rural microfinance, has announced that it will increase its loans to farmers, further increasing its agricultural lending [1, 2]. The loans will enable farmers to buy tractors and other machinery up to a maximum of UGX 200 million (USD 95,000) [1]. Farmers owning 100 acres of land will be targeted. Recently the government declared in its 2009-10 budget that a UGX 30 billion (USD 14.2 million) loan guarantee will be made available to banks that extend loans to the agricultural sector this financial year [1]. The government believes this investment will help Uganda recover from the global recession as the agricultural sector employs 85 percent of the labor force. Centenary Bank will also seek to access part of the UGX 88 billion (EUR 30 million) credit facility that the European Investment Bank (EIB) is extending to several Ugandan commercial banks [1].  

Nigeria based PS Microfinance Bank Limited has closed operations abruptly, leading to heavy financial loses for several of its depositors, as per a press release on The Guardian – Nigeria. According to the release, the bank collected money from ‘almost every trader’ in the Akute area in Nigeria with the promise of providing attractive loans. Following the collection of money, the bank officials are said to have closed down not only their rental office in the Akute region but also their head office in the Ogba region of Nigeria. Officials of the bank have reportedly ‘gone into hiding’ and have been unreachable to both their clients and the press. As stated, the victims of the bank’s fraudulent activities are mostly traders including several women and the total loss for the depositors is estimated to be in the range of millions of Naira; an exact figure of the total amount defrauded by the bank is not currently available. Presently, PS Microfinance Bank does not maintain a web presence nor does it appear to report to MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse; it is however unclear if a website was in fact existent for the bank prior to its closure.

The theme of the recent Gambia Association Accountants (GAA) conference was ‘Development of Microfinance Capability in the Gambia’.  Extracts of a discourse delivered at the conference discussed how the government of the Gambia has taken measures aimed at ‘further deepening and building more resilient and sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs)’ in recent years. The government has drafted a bill to regulate and supervise microfinance activities, reviewed microfinance policy guidelines and the Financial Institutions Act, and approved various microfinance projects.