The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business information arm of the Economist magazine, released its Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2010 survey, placing Peru as the country that is most friendly to microfinance businesses for the third year in a row, followed by the Philippines and Bolivia.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases the 20th Edition of the MicroBanking Bulletin (September 2010 Issue)
Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse, recently released its 20th edition of the MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB), which includes “2006-2008 MFI Trendline Benchmarks”, highlighting trends in the microfinance industry using data from 611 microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave and Microfinance Focus Form Strategic Alliance to Expand Microfinance Resources
MicroSave, a microfinance consulting company established in 1998, has partnered with the Microfinance Focus website in a strategic alliance to promote microfinance knowledge sharing and dissemination with an emphasis on engaging diverse and geographically dispersed practitioners.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Barclays, CARE International and Plan International Launch $1m Banking on Change Microfinance Initiative in India
Barclays, a London-based international financial services provider, recently announced it will be expanding its Banking on Change program in India and will invest INR 55 million (USD 1.2 million) in microfinance initiatives.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Barclays Commits $50m to African Microfinance Groups Including Village Savings and Loan Associations
Barclays, a London-based international financial services provider, recently announced through Vinit Chandra, CEO of Barclays Africa, that the bank will invest USD 50 million in microfinance activities in Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Releases Third Publication Under its Optimising Performance and Efficiency (OPE) Series, Entitled “The Savings Booklet”
MicroSave, a technical assistance, training and technical resource center for microfinance established in Uganda in 1998, has released the third publication under its Optimising Performance and Efficiency (OPE) Series, entitled “The Savings Booklet.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Partners with eTranzact to Launch Rural Telephony Project (RTP) MobileMoney in Nigeria
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with eTranzact, an online payment system based in Nigeria, to launch Rural Telephony Project (RTP) MobileMoney. The goal of the program is to reach rural people in Nigeria – who often lack access to banking services – through the use of mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Loans $1.37m to Seven Microfinance Institutions in Bulgaria, Asia and Africa
Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned USD 1.37 million to seven microfinance institutions (MFI) in Bulgaria, Tajikistan, Benin, the Philippines and Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Barclays Launches “Banking for Billions” Report on Improving Access to Financial Services and Expanding Microfinance
Barclays, a UK-based international investment bank, has released the second edition in the “Barclays Social Intelligence Series,” which tackles global social and environmental issues and the role of the financial services sector in delivering solutions. “Banking for Billions” examines the current global landscape of financial inclusion, studies recent trends, the impact of the economic downturn and the potential role of new technology delivery models.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency and The MasterCard Foundation Launch Enabling APR & EIR Program to Promote Transparency in Microfinance in Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries
MFTransparency, a US-based nonprofit that encourages fair and transparent pricing in the microfinance industry, and the MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that aims to increase access to microfinance and education, have joined together to launch the Enabling Africa to Price Responsibly & Educate on Interest Rates program (Enabling APR & EIR). The Enabling APR & EIR Program aims to raise awareness of transparent pricing issues in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MicroSave and Financial Access Initiative (FAI) to Hold Two Day Virtual Conference “Reimagining Microfinance Around the World: Implementing Lessons from ‘Portfolio of the Poor'” June 8-9, 2010
Event Name: Reimagining Microfinance Around the World: Implementing Lessons from ‘Portfolios of the Poor’
Event Date: June 8 to June 9, 2010
Event Location: Online
Event Website: http://www.microsave.org/static/content/VC-on-portfolios-of-the-poor
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Microinsurance Fund Raises Additional $25m in Commitments from New Investors Including J.P. Morgan and TIAA-CREF
LeapFrog Investments, an international for-profit microinsurance fund, recently announced its final close raising USD 25 million for a total fund size of USD 137 million for investments in Africa and Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION International and Ecobank Partner to Form EB-ACCION Microfinance in Cameroon
EB-ACCION Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) formed by ACCION International, a nonprofit organization with partner MFIs in over 20 countries, and Ecobank, a pan-African bank with a network of over 500 branches in 27 countries, recently launched its first two branches in Cameroon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Releases Podcast on the 2007 Initial Public Offering of Mexican Microfinance Lender Compartamos
MicroSave, a technical assistance, training and technical resource center for microfinance organizations, has released a podcast discussing issues surrounding the controversially lucrative 2007, USD 458 million initial public offering of the Mexican microfinance bank, Compartamos.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Five Employees Defraud Nigerian Christ Embassy Microfinance Bank of $400k
The Nigerian Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police Force recently detained five employees of the Christ Embassy microfinance bank for defrauding the organization of NGN 60 million (USD 400,000) [1]. The five employees funneled the money into two false accounts beginning some time in 2008 and ending in February 2009 when an independent auditor noted that the funds were missing [2]. At the time, the organization’s microfinance operations had not been licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Poised to Invest $30m to $37m in Microinsurance Projects in India
In a recent interview with the Indian online news platform VCCircle, Mr Jim Roth, Principal at LeapFrog Investments, a private equity microinsurance fund, said that of the fund’s USD 110 million in capital, it would commit USD 30 to 37 million to microinsurance products in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Barclays Bank and International Development Organizations CARE International and Plan International Launch Joint Microfinance Initiative in Kenya
Barclays, a UK-based international investment bank, and international development organizations CARE International (CARE) and Plan International (Plan) have jointly launched a microfinance initiative in Kenya with the goal of reaching 100,000 people in seven districts in Eastern and Nyanza provinces.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Microenterprise and Development Institute (MDI) Moves to the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Program Renamed the Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP)
The Microenterprise and Development Institute (MDI), a US-based microfinance training program, has moved from Southern New Hampshire University to the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The program is now called the Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP).