Event Name: Webinar: Data Driven Social Performance Management
Event Dates: English-language webinars will be held on May 26, 2015, at 7:00 AM Eastern US Time and May 27, 2015, at noon Eastern US Time. A Spanish-language version of the webinar will be held on May 28, 2015 at noon Eastern US Time.
Event Name: African Microfinance Week (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) 2015
Event Dates: June 29 – July 3, 2015
Location: King Fahd Palace Conference Center, Dakar, Senegal
Event Summary: The second annual African Microfinance Week will center around “accelerating innovative rural finance in Africa,” providing practitioners with a venue for exchanging ideas and reflecting on the trajectory of the industry. The event is designed to improve “the synergies” between the Benin-based African Microfinance Network (AFMIN), an association of 21 national microfinance networks; the African Microfinance Transparency Forum (AMT), a South Africa-based group that aims to strengthen the performance of African microfinance institutions (MFIs); the African Rural & Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA), a Kenya-based group of 105 central banks, retail financial service providers and microfinance networks; and the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), a Cote d’Ivoire-based NGO with 71 members. The program is sponsored by the governments of Senegal and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with support from the US-based Citi Foundation; the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank; the United Nations Capital Development Fund; and Microfact, a nonprofit, web-based platform that provides toolkits for building the capacity of MFIs. The week will include plenary sessions, trainings, an investors’ fair and the general assemblies of AFMIN and MAIN. The primary languages of the event will be French and English. MicroCapital will provide sponsored, onsite coverage of selected sessions.
Event Name: African Microfinance Week (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) 2015
Event Dates: June 29 – July 3, 2015
Location: King Fahd Palace Conference Center, Dakar, Senegal
Event Summary: The second annual African Microfinance Week will center around “accelerating innovative rural finance in Africa,” providing practitioners with a venue for exchanging ideas and reflecting on the trajectory of the industry. The event is designed to improve “the synergies” between the Benin-based African Microfinance Network (AFMIN), an association of 21 national microfinance networks; the African Microfinance Transparency Forum (AMT), a group that aims to strengthen the performance of African microfinance institutions (MFIs); the African Rural & Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA), a Kenya-based group of 105 central banks, retail financial service providers and microfinance networks; and the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), a Cote d’Ivoire-based NGO with 71 members. The program is sponsored by the governments of Senegal and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with support from the US-based Citi Foundation; the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank; the United Nations Capital Development Fund; and Microfact, a nonprofit, web-based platform that provides toolkits for building the capacity of MFIs. The week will include plenary sessions, trainings, an investors’ fair and the general assemblies of AFMIN and MAIN. The primary languages of the event will be French and English.
Event Name: The Sixth Caribbean Microfinance Forum: Solutions for Inclusive Growth
Event Date: July 6-9, 2015
Event Location: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Miami Airport & Convention Centre; Miami, Florida, United States of America
Cost: The fee to attend the forum is USD 600. A reduced rate of USD 475 is available for attendees who register by April 1, 2015, and a discounted rate of USD 200 is available for one-day registration.
“The Next Stage of Financial Inclusion;” by D. Karlan; published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review; fall 2014; 9 pages; available at: http://www.ssireview.org/pdf/Fall_2014_The_Next_Stage_of_Financial_Inclusion_1.pdf
This paper investigates the evolving role of nonprofit organizations in providing microcredit to people with low incomes.
Citigroup, a financial services corporation based in the US city of New York, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a government-backed development finance institution based in Washington DC, recently announced that they will partner to fund two jointly funded loans with a total value of USD 10 million for ACBA Credit Agricole Bank (formerly known as the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia), a Yerevan-based microfinance institution (MFI) that specializes in the financing of the agriculture sector of Armenia.
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit that provides performance data and analysis on microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their funders, networks and service providers, recently announced the appointment of Mr Jeffrey Binstock as the organization’s new CEO.
Opportunity International (OI), a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance in 22 countries, has selected Mambu, a German firm offering a cloud-based banking platform, to provide banking software for OI’s lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit, recently announced the launch of FINclusion Lab, a platform that provides interactive visual interpretation and analysis of country-specific data pertaining to financial services activities in Africa, Asia and Latin America [1].
“Financial Capability in Colombia: Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge;” by Rekha Reddy, Miriam Bruhn and Congyan Tan; published by The World Bank; 2013; 87 pages; available at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/07/18054984/financial-capability-colombia-results-national-survey-financial-behaviors-attitudes-knowledge
This report, which was published by The World Bank, a US-based multilateral institution, analyzes a survey carried out in Colombia regarding “financial capabilities,” including behaviors, attitudes and knowledge regarding financial products.
The Student Microfinance Movement, a US-based network of student organizations, through a partnership with US-based financial institution Citi and US-based nonprofit organizations AboutMicrofinance and Kiva U, is accepting entries for its student microfinance essay and video competitions, which are aimed at raising awareness of the impact of microfinance on poverty and gender inequality.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, recently announced that it will extend a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 6.9 million) to Elana Agrocredit, a Bulgaria-based financial institution that provides lease financing to agricultural producers for farmland purchases.
Citi Asia, a subsidiary of US-based bank Citigroup in Asia, recently launched Citi Mobile Collect, a mobile payment platform that enables customers to complete fund transfers via mobile phones, in China and India.
Event Name: The Fifth Caribbean Microfinance Forum: Building an Environment for Entrepreneurs to Excel
Event Date: June 2 – 5, 2014
Event Location: Iberostar Rose Hall Suites Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica
Bank of America, a US-based financial services provider, is investing USD 10 million in Calvert Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization specializing in social-impact investment, to provide loans to organizations that increase financial access for women entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America [1].
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development agency of the US government, reportedly has entered agreements with Citi, a US-based financial services corporation, to share credit risk for the financing of investments in an unspecified number of the 150 OPIC-eligible countries with a USD 550 million loan facility for general investments and a USD 220 million loan facility to support financial inclusion.
The Seed Initiative, a Germany-based nonprofit institution that supports small-scale social and environmental enterprises in emerging economies, recently announced that it is accepting applications for the “2014 Seed Awards for Entrepreneurs in Sustainable Development,” a set of annual awards presented to entrepreneurs in developing countries that Seed deems to be the “…most promising, innovative and locally led…[and that have the] potential to contribute significantly to sustainable development…”.
Citigroup (Citi), a US-based financial services corporation with operations in 140 countries, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution of the US government, have announced a term-loan of USD 10 million to Bank of Georgia, a commercial bank in Georgia that is a subsidiary of UK-based Bank of Georgia Holdings, to support the financial inclusion of microentrepreneurs and small businesses in Georgia [1].