Source: PR Newswire.
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PRESS RELEASE: International Development Law Organization (IDLO) Works with Lawyers to Boost Microfinance in South Asia
Source: International Development Law Organization (IDLO).
PRESS RELEASE: Unites States: Omidyar Makes Largest Grant to Date in Microfinance: $9m to Unitus
Source: Unitus.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Benchmarking Asian Microfinance 2006
Written by Scott Gaul and Hindi Tazi of the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), based on 2006 benchmark data collected by MIX from 194 Asian microfinance institutions, this publication was released in March 2006 as a 20-page document available here.
The Asian microfinance sector served over 35 million active borrowers with USD 6.97 billion in loans in 2006. While it represents only one third of global borrowers, Asian microfinance serves two thirds of total microloan clients. Asian MFIs also achieved scale in savings with over 47 million voluntary depositors, three-fourths of global microfinance savings clients.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CARE International and Allianz Pioneering Microinsurance Against Disaster for India’s Poor
Aid agency CARE international and global insurance company, Allianz are offering community health insurance in the southern Indian region south of the city of Chinnai, an area badly hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami. Packages covering natural catastrophes and accidents will be available for 16 cents a month. A family of four can be insured for an average annual cost of ten dollars US.
WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: Aloysius P. Fernandez
Aloysius P. Fernandez is the Executive Director, as well as board member, of Bangalore-based Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in India which provides training programs for rural development in the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhrapradesh, and Tamil Nadu as well as staff support to 6 other states and promotion of the Self-help Affinity Strategy in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. MYRADA also publishes on various topics such as watershed development—projects which pursue better management of natural water resources—and NGO-government collaboration.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: ASA International Secures $125m in Largest Microfinance Equity Commitment to Date
Catalyst Microfinance Investors (CMI) of Mauritius announced on Tuesday that it had raised USD 125 million through the largest microfinance equity sale to date. Investors included private individuals as well as a number of institutional investors such as the Dutch pension fund, ABP and the US financial services organization, TIAA-CREF. The majority of the funds will be channeled to ASA International of Bangladesh, who will use the increased capital to expand operations in Africa and Asia.
NEWS WIRE: Bangladesh: Microfinance Institution ASA International Secures Largest Equity Capital Commitment Ever to Microfinance
Source: Catalyst Microfinance Investors.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Compartamos Windfall One Year Later
Nearly one year since the well-publicized and successful IPO of Banco Compartamos, its stock has not maintained its initial and sizable gains. Compartamos is Mexico’s largest microfinance bank, the first “home-grown” microfinance institution to complete an IPO, and the continued subject of debate within the microfinance industry.
PRESS RELEASE: Cadbury to Work With United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Expand Access to Microfinance for Cocoa Farmers in Ghana and Elsewhere
Source: Cadbury.
NEWS WIRE: USA: More From Forbes – On the Pitfalls of Microfinance Investing
Forbes: “A lot of people are chasing returns in barefoot banking. Here’s what you should know before you follow.”
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Opportunity International Australia Raises $30m to Supply One Million Indian Entrepreneurs with Microfinance
Opportunity International Australia, part of the global non-profit microfinance network Opportunity International, has raised USD 30 million from Australian donors in the last 12 months. The organization will use the funds to supply loans and business services to micro-entrepreneurs across India.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: UPS to Issue Grants Totaling USD $1m to Microfinance Organizations ACCION International, Opportunity International and FINCA International
United Parcel Service (UPS), a global package delivery service founded in 1907, has created a Centennial Grants Fund in honor of UPS’s 100 year anniversary. UPS’s fund has issued USD 1 million to three microfinance organizations that support micro-entrepreneurs across the globe. ACCION International will receive USD 400,000, Opportunity International will receive USD 390,000 and FINCA International will receive USD 210,000. The creation of the Centennial Grants Fund is the first time UPS has dedicated such a large portion of its corporate philanthropy to microfinance and micro-lending.
PRESS RELEASE: Unitus Announces Partnership With MokshaYug Access to Expand “Microfinance Plus” Services
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Women’s Apparel Company Shabby Apple Pairs up With Unitus to Increase Microfinance Services in India
Shabby Apple, a designer dress company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is releasing their new fall line of fashions, and will be donating 5 percent of its proceeds to Unitus, a non profit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty by increasing access to microfinance. The money will specifically be utilized to aid women entrepreneurs in India.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) Issues Bonds Worth USD 11.4m Through Developing World Market’s (DWM) Management to Finance Microfinance Operations
Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA), a central Asian and eastern European microfinance institution (MFI), has issued USD 11.4 million in bonds to international capital investors. Developing World Markets (DWM), a US-based asset management firm, sponsored and arranged the investment deal, which took place in Luxembourg, through a specially created investment vehicle titled MFBA Bond I. The debt accrued by MFBA through the bond issuance has been categorized as senior debt, with a five-year term for repayment. MFBA will use the loaned capital to finance micro loans for Azeri small businesses.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Citi Foundation and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Announce 2007 Micro-entrepreneurship Awards Program in Pakistan to Highlight Microfinance
The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), a Pakistani organization dedicated to assisting poor and rural communities in Pakistan, and Citi Foundation, a philanthropic outreach arm of Citigroup, announced they will hold for the third consecutive year an awards program dedicated to micro-entrepreneurship. The program, “Citi-PPAF Microentrepreneurship Awards Programme 2007,” will recognize the efforts made by micro-entrepreneurs to improve the quality of life for their families and their communities. It is designed to demonstrate the impact of microfinance on micro-entrepreneurs and poverty reduction.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Australian Non-Profit Group Recycles Mobile Phones to Promote Microfinance
An Australian non-profit group, Enable Community, is promoting microfinance by recycling mobile phones. The group collects and refurbishes donated phones that are then distributed to micro-entrepreneurs. The organization’s purpose is to provide the working poor access to affordable communications. Enable Community gathers surplus phones through Australian community groups, churches, and businesses.