by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROFINANCE PROFILE: MicroEnsure

Name of Organization or Microfinance Investment Vehicle: MicroEnsure

Overview: MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of Opportunity International, was established in 2005 as a microinsurance intermediary.

Description:

MicroEnsure was founded in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, a global non-profit microfinance network created in 1974. It was known as the Micro Insurance Agency until 2008. As an insurance intermediary, it provides a range of low-cost products including health, life, property and weather index-based insurance to over 3.5 million poor clients across six countries: Ghana, India, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. In 2008, MicroEnsure received a USD 24.2 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help expand its insurance products to the poor in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 2009, it won the Financial Times award for Achievement in Basic Needs Financing.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROFINANCE PROFILE: LeapFrog Investments

Name of Organization or Microfinance Investment Vehicle: LeapFrog Investments

Overview: LeapFrog Investments is a for-profit, private equity fund focused on microinsurance and financial inclusion

Description:

LeapFrog Investments was founded in 2007 by Dr. Andrew Kuper. It is a for-profit, private equity fund aimed at earning large returns by investing in and supporting microinsurance initiatives. LeapFrog has raised USD 44 million from a range of public and private investors, including the European Investment Bank, the Omidyar Network, FMO, Triodos-Doen and Hivos-Triodos, ACCION International, Calvert, and Felipe Medina (a senior Goldman Sachs wealth manager). The LeapFrog team has also committed USD 1 million of their own personal money into the fund. The fund focuses on ventures in Africa and Asia, with initial target countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Pakistand and the Philippines.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog Investments Ltd.

Dr. Andrew Kuper is President and Founder of LeapFrog, the world’s first microinsurance fund, which he founded in 2007. He was previously a Managing Director of Ashoka, a support organization for social entrepreneurs. He has worked with microfinance institutions Grameen and BRAC, and is the author of two books on globalization. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

by Diya Chopra -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Considering Outsourcing the Supervision of Microfinance Banks (MFBs)

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, said recently, while speaking in a meeting at corporate headquarters, that the supervision of the 800+ microfinance banks (MFBs) in Nigeria may be outsourced.

by Kenny Kline -

WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI)

The Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) is a strategic partnership between the Norwegian public and private sectors that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and provides professional assistance and technical support for these institutions. NMI’s investors have committed NOK 600 million (USD 100 million) for investment. There is an equal amount of public and private investment in the NMI. [1] Investors include Norfund (a development finance institution owned by the Government of Norway) and four private sector partners: Ferd, KLP, DnB NOR, and Storebrand.

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: USAID Signs a USD 16 Million Dollar Loan Agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C.

According to AllAfrica, a multi-media content service provider of news in Africa, USAID has recently signed a USD 16 million dollar loan agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C [1]. The agreement was reached to help strengthen the economic development of Ethiopia by enabling microfinance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives to offer more loans [1]. No additional information is provided as to whether the funds are on-lent to MFIs or which MFIs will receive these funds. According to the AllAfrica story, the loan agreement would reduce collateral requirements to beneficiaries by 50 percent, but it is unclear who the beneficiaries are. There is no additional information regarding the terms and usage of loan, structure of the program or how it would reduce collateral requirements is provided.

by Chinq Yee Chong -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Gender Related Challenges In Pakistan’s Microfinance Sector – ‘The News’ Online Portal Observes That Microbusinesses Started By Women Rarely Graduate Into Small And Medium Enterprises

It was reported in an article on Pakistan’s online The News portal entitled ‘Women face hurdles to developing business’ [1] that successful women microentrepreneurs who have the support of microfinance loans seldom develop their ventures into small or medium-sized businesses ‘due not only to gender-specific impediments’ but also ‘to their inability to access institutions established to facilitate them’. The report was authored by senior commerce reporter, Mr Mansoor Ahmed, at The News, Lahore. This conclusion was based on a study conducted by The News which revealed that in cities such as Sialkot and Gujranwala, many male entrepreneurs who started their businesses at a micro level subsequently ‘graduated’ and developed their enterprises into medium or large ones. The News found that such ‘graduation’ rarely occurs in relation to women microentrepreneurs, subject to a small number of exceptional cases. Specific details of the study conducted by The News are not currently available in the public domain.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Peru Ranks First in 2009 Microscope Microfinance Index, A Global Index on Business Environment for Microfinance Developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Released by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the EIU

Peru has been named the best country for microfinance in terms of business climate by the 2009 Microscope microfinance ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of the Economist Magazine that provides “country, industry and management analysis” [1,2,3]. The 2009 Microscope was published jointly by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the “main source of multilateral financing” in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) the primary source of multilateral financing in the Andean region, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, and the EIU [4,5,6]. Last year, Peru was named the best country for microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean. This was covered by Microcapital in October of 2008 [7,8,9]. This year, the rankings were made globally and Peru still topped the list of 55 countries [1].

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Opportunity International Expands Education Finance Program with $10m for Entrepreneurs to Open Schools in Poor Neighborhoods

Opportunity International, a nonprofit microfinance organization founded in 1971 by Al Whittaker and David Bussau, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative’s Fifth Annual Meeting that it will expand its Banking on Education program to five additional countries over the next 24 months.  Opportunity will commit USD 10 million to its education finance program, which provides loans for entrepreneurs to open schools in poor areas where it is difficult for children, particularly girls, to access public schools [1, 2].  Opportunity reaches over one million clients globally with products including loans, insurance and technical services.  As of December 2008, it had USD 799 million in assets [3].  To view the 2008 Annual Report, see [4] in the bibliography.

by Diya Chopra -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Micro Health Insurance Conference 2009, December 2-3, 2009 Organized by Pro Micro Health Insurance (MHI) Africa in Lilongwe, Malawi

Event Name: Lessons Learnt and Lessons to Learn in the Field of Micro Health Insurance in Africa

Event Date: December 2-3, 2009

Event Location: Lilongwe, Malawi, Malawi Institute of Management

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance for NGO, CHF International (Part three of a three part series)

Founded in 1952, CHF International (CHF) has worked in over 100 countries and currently operates in more than 25 nations.  CHF’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and moderate-income communities around the world, helping people improve their social, economic, and environmental conditions. One component of fulfilling that mission has been improving access to financial services. In the last five years, CHF International has disbursed over 200,000 loans totaling more than USD 482 million and has a particular niche in establishing microfinance programs in conflict, post-conflict, and post-disaster settings.  CHF currently oversees lending operations in 11 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. As of June 2009, CHF International had assets under management of over USD 200 million (microfinance portfolio outstanding of USD 107.6 million plus middle market portfolio outstanding of USD 93.5 million).

Elissa McCarter, Director of the Office of Development Finance that oversees Microfinance, SME and Housing Finance Initiatives at CHF International (CHF)

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MEET THE BOSS: Interview with the CEO of OpenRevolution, a Mobile Financial Services Network (Mobile Banking Services) for Microfinance Institutions, Individuals, Merchants, and Micro-Entrepreneurs

OpenRevolution develops mobile banking services in emerging markets.  Through partnerships with local mobile network operators and microfinance organizations, OpenRevolution seeks to expand financial access in communities underserved by traditional banking institutions and to develop an integrated set of mobile financial products tailored to the needs of individuals, merchants and micro-entrepreneurs.

Allen Gilstrap, Chief Executive Officer, OpenRevolution

by Chinq Yee Chong -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Microfinance Organisations In The Kashmir Valley Should Increase Their Focus On The Urban Poor – Observations From Jammu And Kashmir

In a recent report available the Microfinance Focus portal [1] entitled ‘Rising urban poverty in Jammu and Kashmir calls for focus on microfinance’ [2] by the journalist Bilal Hussain [3] in Srinagar, Mr Hussain calls for microfinance participants to increase their focus on the urban poor in the Kashmir Valley. Whilst a good number of MFIs and related organisations focus on alleviating poverty in rural areas of the Kashmir valley, Mr Hussain is of the view that there are significant numbers of urban poor who would benefit greatly from access to microcredit.