The Economic Times, an online business publication, recently interviewed KC Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), regarding how competition among microfinance institutions (MFIs) may help increase the financial inclusion of poor people.
Search Results for: measure
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Tanzanian Micro Enterprises and Micro Finance: The Role and Impact for Poor Rural Women, by Lucy Ssendi and Alistair R. Anderson
By Lucy Ssendi and Alistair R. Anderson, Journal of Entrepreneurship 18, 2009, 19 pages, available for purchase at: http://joe.sagepub.com/content/18/1/1.abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of microfinance in Tanzania, where, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), high levels of poverty combined with slow economic growth have forced a large percentage of the population into self-employment and informal activities. Ms Ssendi and Mr Anderson begin by exploring the general nature of microfinance in rural Tanzania and presenting the types of finance available to the poor.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Invest $25m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Belarusian Bank for Small Business (BBSB) in Belarus, NLB Tuzlanska Banka in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and NLB Montenegrobanka in Montenegro
European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxemburg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling USD 25 million to three microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Southeast Europe.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Take Action! Impact Investing Conference, Boston, USA, September 15-17, 2010 and San Francisco, USA, March 14-16, 2011
Event Name: Take Action! Impact Investing Conference
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Releases Paper, “Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Another Look” by Professor Kathleen Odell
The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, has released a paper, titled, “Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Another Look,” to address and inform the current debate surrounding microfinance’s efficacy in reducing poverty and ameliorating other social problems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) Releases Nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at Leadership Summit in Toronto, Canada
The Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG), a division of the G20 – a group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors that discuss key issues in the global economy – released nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at the recent G20 leadership summit in Toronto. The principles are intended to form the basis of a concrete action plan for improving access to financial services for the poor, which will be released at the Seoul Summit in November.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Where Does Microfinance Flourish? Microfinance Institution Performance in Macroeconomic Context, by Christian Ahlin, Jocelyn Lin and Michael Maio
By Christian Ahlin, Jocelyn Lin and Michael Maio, published by the Journal of Development Economics, April 27, 2010, 16 pages, available at: http://news.msu.edu/media/documents/2010/06/8d6d8126-97dd-4569-b65b-736f700fc844.pdf
Mr Ahlin, Ms Lin and Mr Maio study whether and how the success or failure of microfinance institutions (MFIs) depends on the country-level context, particularly macroeconomic and macro-institutional features. In order to explore these questions, the authors reviewed data on 373 MFIs from 74 countries. The authors rely on two groups of MFI performance variables: operational self-sufficiency (the ratio of revenues to costs) and loan portfolio growth. Operational self-sufficiency is broken down into three components: financial revenues and costs, losses due to default and operating costs, so that, in some cases, the authors are able to identify the channel through which a given macroeconomic variable is correlated with the financial sustainability of a MFI. MFI portfolio growth is decomposed into two components: growth in number of borrowers (extensive growth) and growth in average loan size (intensive growth).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Two Thirds of Philippine Households Lack Bank Accounts, Says Central Bank Official
Two thirds of Philippine households, an estimated 11 million, do not have bank accounts, according to Mr Amando Tetangco, the Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Finance Minister of India Asks Insurance Agencies to Provide Microinsurance in Rural Areas
Pranab Makherjee, Finance Minister of India, has asked insurance agencies to provide more microinsurance services to people living in rural areas. He made this request when speaking at an inaugural ceremony for the Insurance Institute of India, formerly known as The Federation of Insurance Institutes.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gates Foundation, USAID Offer $15m to Initiators of Mobile Money Services in Haiti
The US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (AID) have announced a USD 15 million fund to encourage companies to initiate mobile financial services in Haiti.
MEET THE BOSS: Rick Beckett, CEO of Microfinance Fund Manager Global Partnerships, Which Will Host a Social Investor Forum on June 8, 2010, in Seattle, Washington, USA
MicroCapital: What is your personal motivation for investing in microfinance?
Rick Beckett: I spent the first 20 years of my career in the private sector. My motivation is really rooted in a couple things: one is I want to live in a world where everybody is treated like they matter, and for me that’s a lot about people having the opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families. We don’t live in that kind of a world. I do the work I do at Global Partnerships and Direct Relief and elsewhere because I’m interested in how we can use market solutions to advance the common good. I’m intrigued by the opportunity to change investment markets to incorporate more social motivations. I’m intrigued by the evolution of enterprises and products to incorporate more of the common good, both in terms of global poverty and global health issues as well as environmental issues. So it’s a combination of wanting to see a different world and intrigue in how the market mechanisms are evolving to advance that. So it’s a pretty interesting place to be in right now.
MC: You have said previously that “All microfinance is not created equal.” How you make such distinctions?
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Seeks Nominations for Social Performance Reporting Awards 2010
The nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) is seeking nominations for the Social Performance Reporting Awards, established in 2009 by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), the Ford Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), a group aimed at defining social performance for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Experts Debate New Code of Conduct Adopted by the Microfinance India Network (MFIN)
A recent article featured on Livemint.com, an Indian business newspaper owned by the Wall Street Journal, discusses the debate surrounding the code of conduct recently adopted by the Microfinance India Network (MFIN), a trade association made up of 38 Indian non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) engaged in microfinance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The GROWTH Act is Introduced In the US House of Representatives
On April 29, 2010, the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive (GROWTH) Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives. The bill, which was originally introduced into the US Senate on July 9, 2009, would provide a range of economic tools intended to help women in developing countries improve their financial situations. The bill includes microfinance and small business development and training as well as measures to enhance women’s land and property rights, to improve wages and working conditions, to improve access to global trade and to strengthen local women’s organizations.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Investing into Microfinance Investment Funds, by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská
Written by Karel Janda and Barbora Svárovská, published by the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University in Prague, 2009, 35 pages, available at:
This paper aims to measure the performance of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) in terms of risk and returns to investors.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance and Financial Sector Development, by Annabel Vanroose and Bert D’Espallier
Written by Annabel Vanroose and Bert D’Espallier, published by the Emile Bernheim Center Research Institute in Management Sciences at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in September 2009, 41 pages, available at http://www.solvay.edu/EN/Research/Bernheim/documents/wp09040.pdf
This paper aims to determine the impact of formal banking sector development on several measures of performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Bangladesh to Limit Interest Rates for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Mr Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, recently told the Bangladeshi Parliament that, in collaboration with Transparency International Bangladesh, an international non-governmental organization aimed at fighting corruption, the government would limit interest rates charged by microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Apax Foundation, Charitable Arm of London-Based Private Equity Firm, Apax Partners, to Purchase 20-Percent Stake in Finance in Motion, Fund Adviser to European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
The Apax Foundation, the charitable arm of the London-based private equity firm, Apax Partners, has agreed to issue a capital increase to purchase a 20-percent stake in Finance in Motion, a Frankfurt-based asset management firm focused on development finance, including microfinance.