SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently was directed by the Supreme Court of India, the country’s apex court, to plead its case against the enforcement of the Regulation of Microlending Act of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), in front of the AP High Court, the state’s apex court.
Search Results for: Microfinance Institutions Bill India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Utkarsh Raises $5m in Equity from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative, Aavishkaar Goodwell, International Finance Corporation
Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited (Utkarsh), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has raised equity commitments of INR 15.8 crores (USD 3.2 million) from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, a public-private partnership (PPP) that provides technical and financial support to “emerging” microfinance institutions; INR 6 crores (USD 1.2 million) from Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company (AG), an Indo-Dutch for-profit private investor in Indian MFIs; and INR 3.2 crores (USD 650,000) from International Finance Corporation, the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Sector Expected to Decline by 20 to 40 Percent During Fiscal Year Ending March 2012
Data from India’s 39-member Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) for the first five months of fiscal year 2011-2012 indicate a decline in the industry’s loan portfolio.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prathama, Aryavart Gramin, Gomti-Kashi Banks Bring Solar Lighting to India’s Rural Villages Through Microfinance
Microfinance has been successful at bringing solar lighting to India’s rural villages, according to an article in Indian science and environment magazine Down To Earth.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Two Papers Released by Microfinance Information Exchange Discuss Impacts of Financial Crises, Reporting Requirements
The US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released two papers that offer insight into different issues faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Move to Recover “Pre-Crisis” Loans Worth $1.4b in Andhra Pradesh, India
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh, India, have started talks to recover outstanding loans amounting to INR 7,000 crore (approximately USD 1.4 billion), which they have been unable to collect since the repayment dropoff in the state started in 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, Launches Cooperative Microfinance Bank for Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
Self-help groups (SHGs) in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh will soon have an alternative source of microloans in the form of Stree Nidhi, a cooperative microfinance bank that has been formed by the state government and the Mandal Mahila Samkhyas (MMS), a representative federation of SHGs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Bandhan Financial Services to Apply for Banking License
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited (Bandhan) reportedly plans to apply for a banking license after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) finalizes its new guidelines for establishing new banks [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Launches Interactive “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor” With Funding From Canada’s MasterCard Foundation
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) a US-based nonprofit organization that publishes financial and social performance information from microfinance stakeholders, recently launched the “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor,” an interactive tool that shows country-specific microfinance information in the context of socioeconomic indicators.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Ujjivan Looking to Raise $138m from Private, Public Sector Banks
Ujjivan Financial Services, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), reportedly plans to raise up to INR 6.2 billion (USD 138 million) from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a government-owned financial institution, along with other unspecified private and public-sector banks.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Microfinance Transparency (AMT) 2011 Investor’s Fair in Accra, Ghana, October 13 – 14
Event Name: The 2011 Investor’s Fair
Event Date: October 13 – October 14, 2011
Event Location: Hotel Alisa, Accra, Ghana
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cloud Computing and Financial Services for The Poor: Promise and Perils of a New Computing Paradigm in Washington DC, USA, and Online, September 16, 2011
Event Name: Cloud Computing and Financial Services for The Poor: Promise and Perils of a New Computing Paradigm
Event Date: September 16, 2011; 9:00 am – 10:30 am EDT
Event Location: QED Group, 1250 Eye Street, NW 11th Floor, Washington DC, USA or online
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Axis Bank Bandhan Holistic Assistance (ABHA) Initiative to Combine Microfinance, Health Services, Grants to Individuals in West Bengal, India
Axis Bank Foundation (ABF), the corporate social responsibility arm of India-based Axis Bank, and Bandhan Konnagar, the non-profit branch of Indian microfinance institution Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited (Bandhan), have collaborated to launch Axis Bank Bandhan Holistic Assistance (ABHA), to provide financial, health and support services to the “poorest of the poor” in two districts in the Indian state of West Bengal.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) Annual Report Covers Partnership with Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
The Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), an initiative established in 2006 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), recently outlined in its annual report its efforts to “encourage private sector led sustainable economic growth” in developing countries in the Pacific by “improving access to financial services, updating business laws and upgrading the delivery of services by state-owned enterprises (SOEs).”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog to Invest $15m in India’s Shriram Group to Expand Microinsurance, Savings Offerings
LeapFrog Investments, a US-based private equity fund focusing on microinsurance activities, will invest USD 15 million in the Shriram Group, an India-based provider of financial services to low-income individuals, to help the organization expand its offering of microinsurance and savings products for up to 10 million clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Mandates Banks Open 25% of New Branches in Rural Areas; Banks May Offer Only Limited Financial Services
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, recently published circulars that will require new and existing banks to open one quarter of new branches in towns with populations of less than 10,000 people in an effort to further the government’s financial inclusion agenda.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Selective Knowledge: Reporting Biases in Microfinance Data, by Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, Published by Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College
By Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College, June 2009, 39 pages, available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/morduch/documents/articles/2008-06-Selective-knowledge.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Share, Spandana Sphoorty, Asmitha Consider Merger, Continue Debt Restructuring Talks
As part of their ongoing efforts to manage significant losses in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) Share Microfin Limited, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited and Asmitha Microfin Limited reportedly are in the early stages of considering the possibility of merging with one another.