MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, with funding from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), a non-profit fund certification agency based in Luxembourg, has launched the full version of Luminis, an online analytical platform on microfinance funds.
Search Results for: cgap
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financial Behavior in Latin America; Microfinance Reporting Technology; Evaluation of India’s Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS)
“The Financial Behavior of Rural Residents: Findings from Five Latin American Countries;” by Jacqueline Urquizo; published by Accion; March 2012; 45 pages; available at: http://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/the-financial-behavior-of-rural-residents_march-2012.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Lends $23m to Inecobank of Armenia, Megabank of Ukraine, Partner MikroKreditna Fondacija Tuzla of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) has reported to MicroCapital that it has made of the following amounts in support of microfinance during April 2012: USD 10 million to Inecobank of Armenia, USD 7 million to Megabank of Ukraine and approximately USD 6.66 million to Partner MikroKreditna Fondacija Tuzla of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: HSBC to Provide Technical Assistance to Microfinance Institutions in Middle East, North Africa in Partnership with Grameen-Jameel, Bankers without Borders
UK-based financial services company HSBC (formerly known as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), Dubai-based microfinance investor Grameen-Jameel and Bankers without Borders (BwB), a program of the US-based Grameen Foundation, are partnering to provide financial and technical expertise to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Middle East and North Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 87 MFIs Earn 2011 Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Social Performance Reporting Award
Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit provider of data and analysis on microfinance institutions (MFIs), funders, networks and service providers dedicated to serving the financial needs of low-income clients, has released the names of 87 MFIs that have earned its winners of the Social Performance Reporting Award.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Government to Investigate NGOs, Microcredit Entities for Money Laundering
The Bangladeshi government reportedly intends to investigate the financial transactions of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and microcredit entities operating in the country “to unearth any kind of money laundering.”
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Disclosure Regimes for Responsible Financial Inclusion; The Thailand Village and Urban Revolving Fund; “Microsavings Works Much Better”
“Designing Disclosure Regimes for Responsible Financial Inclusion,” by Jennifer Chien; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); March 2012; 23 pages; available at:
http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.57109/FN_78.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen-Jameel Loans $1.5m to Jordan Micro Credit Company (Tamweelcom)
Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Limited, a joint venture of the US-based Grameen Foundation and the UK-based Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation, reportedly has provided a loan of USD 1.5 million to the Jordan Micro Credit Company (Tamweelcom), a Jordan-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microsavings and Payments Innovation Initiative (MPII) of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Accepting Expressions of Interest through May 4, 2012
The Microsavings and Payments Innovation Initiative, a research initiative created in 2010 by US-based nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), has issued a call for expressions of interest for funding “to conduct rigorous, field-based research on savings products and services as well as payments and money transfer channels for the world’s poor and financially excluded” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Savings Continue to Dominate; Aspirations for Financial Inclusion in Africa
Two US-based nonprofits, the CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), recently released the “2011 Regional Snapshot of Microfinance Analysis and Key Trends in Africa’.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Affordability, Profitability and Use of Electronic G2P Payment Systems, March 14, 2012, Online Chat
Event Name: Affordability, Profitability and Use of Electronic G2P Payment Systems
Event Date: 11:00 am to 11:30 am eastern US time, March 14, 2012
Event Location: Online
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Imp-Act Consortium, Social Performance Management Network Seek Microfinance Elements Adding Most Value for Clients
Imp-Act Consortium, a UK-based network of microfinance organizations interested in social performance management, has launched an initiative to discover: “What works for clients?”.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Snapshot, Eliminating Entry Barriers in Brazil, and Savings Commitments in Malawi
“2011 Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Snapshot;” published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); February 2012; 36 pages; available at: http://vx.worldbank.org/t/3341406/27487238/32401/0/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana (BOG) Receives 300 Microfinance License Applications
The Bank of Ghana (BOG) reportedly has received approximately 300 applications “from firms seeking to operate under the second tier of the regulated microfinance institutions.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Network to Screen India Film “Sab Tujhse Hai” (“Everything Depends on You,”) Encourages Others to Host Events Through June as Part of “Microinsurance Awareness Season”
On Monday, March 12, the Microinsurance Network, a Luxembourg-based organization that aims to promote the development of microinsurance for low-income populations, is hosting is a screening and discussion of the film “Sab Tujhse Hai” (Everything Depends on You), a Bollywood film that promotes the benefits of microfinance in rural India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WEMAN Global Launches Gender Finance Resources, Promotes Gender Mainstreaming
WEMAN Global, a program of Dutch nonprofit Oxfam Novib that advocates for gender justice in economic institutions, has added a new section to its webpage on gender finance resources.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Geographies of Need and Microfinance Providers in Nigeria, Role of Government in Financial Inclusion, Mobile Money Service and Poverty Reduction in Kenya
“Exploratory Analysis of Local Geographies of Need and the Proximity of Microfinance Service Providers in Nigeria;” Dr Adegbola A Ojo and Scott Gaul; published by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); January 2012; 14 pages; available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/MBB- Exploratory Analysis of Local Geographies of Need and the Proximity of Microfinance Service Providers in Nigeria_0.pdf
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion, Investment and Microfinance Repayment Crises, Cashless Funeral Microinsurance
“Social Cash Transfers and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Four Countries;” by Chris Bold, David Porteous and Sarah Rotman; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); February 2012; 28 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.56877/