by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Karnataka State Government Launches Mysore City Street Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative Society to Provide Loans to Indian Street Vendors

The government of the Indian state Karnataka recently launched the Mysore City Street Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative Society to provide microloans to street vendors unable to qualify for traditional bank loans.

by Makai McClintock -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “2012 MicroMeter;” published by India’s Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN)

Published by the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN); 2013; 40 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.60963/MicroMeter_Feb%202013_Issue%2004_5th%20Feb%202013_for%20distribution.pdf

The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), an association of 47 Indian microlenders, has released the fourth issue of MicroMeter, an analysis of the Indian microfinance industry’s performance during the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2012-2013 (spanning October to December 2012).

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Koota of India Receives $9.8m in Equity from Incofin, MicroVentures, Aavishkaar Goodwell, Creation Investments; $4m in Debt Funding from Deutsche Bank Microfinance Fund

Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, also known as Grameen Koota, recently received INR 532 million (USD 9.8 million) in its third round equity funding from Beligium-based investment company Incofin, Italy-based private equity firm MicroVentures, Indian-Dutch joint venture Aavishkaar Goodwell, and US-based for-profit company Creation Investments.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Releases Regulations Governing New Bank Licenses

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, recently released revised regulations for the licensing of new banks that allow private firms, public sector entities and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to establish banks through wholly-owned non-operative financial holding companies (NOFHCs).

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, Invest $4.5m in Fusion Microfinance of India

Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds, and the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based corporation that invests in and provides technical support for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently invested INR 250 million (USD 4.5 million) in Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Fusion Microfinance Private Limited.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: The Role of Business in Society; Life Microinsurance in Mexico; Social Performance Report for India

“Invisible Giants;” by Lindsay Levin; published by Vala Publishing; March 2013; 176 pages, available for purchase at: http://vala.wazala.com/?page=product_det&id=112381

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATON ROUND-UP: The Business Case for Life Microinsurance in the Philippines, MIX Map of Financial Inclusion in India, 2012 Sub-Saharan Africa Snapshot

“The Business Case for Life Microinsurance in the Philippines: Initial Findings;” by Richard Koven, Michael J. McCord, John Wipf and Emily Zimmerman; published by the MicroInsurance Centre; October 2012; 9 pages; available at:
http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/milk-project/milk-docs/doc_details/890-milk-brief-14-the-business-case-for-life-microinsurance-in-the-philippines-initial-findings.html

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) May Consider Raising Margin Cap on Microloans if MFIs Relinquish Priority-Sector Status

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, reportedly has refused to remove the 26-percent interest rate cap on loans disbursed by microfinance institutions (MFIs) or to alter margin caps for individual loans to borrowers, despite opposition from within the sector.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microlenders Affiliated with India’s Microfinance Institutions Network Boost Loan Disbursals by 22%, Gross Loan Portfolio by 9.2% from Previous Quarter

According to the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), an association of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), 41 of its 47 member MFIs disbursed loans totaling INR 61.9 billion (USD 1.1 billion) in the October-December quarter of 2012, an increase of approximately 22 percent from the INR 50.9 billion (USD 926 million) during the previous quarter.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: High Court of Indian State of Andhra Pradesh Upholds Microfinance State Law, Rejecting Microlenders’ Petitions

The High Court of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh reportedly ruled to uphold the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Act, 2010, despite petitions brought by Indian microlender SKS Microfinance and other microfinance institutions (MFIs) seeking to have the law repealed.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India’s Andhra Pradesh Face Difficulties Even After Loan Restructuring, “Survival of MFIs” Said to Hang on Court Decision Regarding State Law

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh reportedly are continuing to have difficulty repaying wholesale bank loans even after the restructuring of some of those loans after the downturn in microfinance that began in the region in 2010.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Yes Bank to Create Fund for Small Businesses in India

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has partnered with Yes Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Mumbai, to establish a fund to support small businesses in northeast India.

by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suryoday Micro Finance of India Raises $3.8m from Lok Capital, Aavishkaar, HDFC

Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), is reportedly seeking to increase its customer base by 1 million by 2014 and has raised INR 20 crores (USD 3.8 million) in capital from three of its investors: Aavishkaar Goodwell, a for-profit, Indian-Dutch joint venture; Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based microfinance investment vehicle; and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), an India-based housing finance company.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microlender SKS Microfinance Reports Profits After Seven Quarters of Losses

SKS Microfinance, an Indian microlender listed on the country’s National and Bombay Stock Exchanges, recently reported a net profit of INR 11.5 million (USD 209,000) for the quarter ending December 2012, the first quarterly profits for SKS Microfinance in two years. Loans disbursed rose 14 percent to INR 7.8 billion (USD 142 million).

by Makai McClintock -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Map of Microfinance Distribution in India” by Amulya Krishna Champatiray, Parul Agarwal and Santadarshan Sadhu; published by the Centre for Micro Finance (CMF)

By Amulya Krishna Champatiray, Parul Agarwal and Santadarshan Sadhu; published by the Centre for Micro Finance (CMF); 2012; 41 pages; available at: http://www.centre-for-microfinance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Updated_Final_Report_Map_of_Microfinance_Report_CMF_June27.pdf

This report summarizes the findings of an initiative that gathered information on the portfolios, products and business correspondents of 103 microfinance institutions (MFIs) across India.