The World Bank Group, a multilateral financial institution serving developing countries, has launched the “Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Project III”, the third phase of a project which includes an effort to improve the efficiency of the credit reporting system in Tajikistan. Specifically, the new credit system will allow Tajikistan’s credit reporting providers to offer data through a combined platform, allowing lenders to analyze loan risks using credit histories gleaned from multiple credit bureaus at one time. The project, which is being carried out in cooperation with the National Bank of Tajikistan, the central bank of the country, and the government of Tajikistan, is meant to promote the use of movable assets as collateral for lending and also includes efforts to expand financial education.
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MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Necessary for SMEs to Grow; Microfinance Challenges in the Arab World; Incofin on MFIs’ Social Performance
“ADB Report: Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014;” by S. Shinozaki, T. Chaiken, S. Jain, K. Dorofev, C. T. Delos Santos and J. Bautista; published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); September 2015; 318 pages; available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/173205/asia-sme-finance-monitor2014.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: French Insurer AXA Ups Commitment to Microinsurance, Increasing Equity Stake in UK’s MicroEnsure to 46%
MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International, recently announced that AXA Group, a French insurance and asset management company, will pay an undisclosed sum to increase its equity stake in the organization to 46 percent from an unspecified level.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Network FINCA International Appoints Andree Simon as Co-CEO
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit with microfinance operations in 23 countries, recently announced the promotion of Andrée Simon to the position of co-CEO of FINCA Microfinance Holding LLC (MFH), FINCA’s International’s network of microfinance subsidiaries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Sa-Dhan, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Revise Code of Conduct
Sa-Dhan, an India-based association of 214 microlenders and other financial institutions, and the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of 48 Indian microfinance lenders, recently launched a revised code of conduct.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016,” Published by the World Bank
“Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016,” published by the World Bank, September 2015, 211 pages, available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/gfdr/report
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mapping Pathways Out of Poverty; Marketing Insurance to Women; Sustaining Financial Inclusion in the Philippines
“Mapping Pathways out of Poverty: The State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report, 2015;” published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign; December 2015; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/library/mapping-pathways-out-poverty-state-microcredit-summit-campaign-report-2015
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion” Prepared for the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), World Bank Group
“Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion,” prepared for Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank Group, September 2015, 69 pages, available at: https://consultations.worldbank.org/consultation/payment-aspects-financial-inclusion
This report delineates the role of payment and settlement services – the mechanisms in place to facilitate electronic monetary transactions – in expanding formal financial access to people with low incomes in the developing world.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA International to Offer Microfinance Services to Fund Off-Grid Solar Systems in Africa
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has announced that it will offer microfinance services to fund “off-grid solar systems”[1] in Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Group Acquires ProCredit Bank Congo to Expand to Democratic Republic of the Congo
After receiving approval from regulators in Kenya and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Equity Group, a Kenya-based commercial bank, recently acquired 79 percent of the shares of ProCredit Bank Congo, which is located in DRC and focuses on serving small and medium-sized enterprises. The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Awards Small Finance Bank Licences to 10 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central banking authority of the country, recently has given “in-principle approval”[1] of the requests for Small Finance Bank Licences of the following microfinance institutions (MFIs): Jaipur-based Au Financiers, Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank, Ahmedabad-based Disha Microfin, Chennai-based Equitas, Chennai-based ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Bengaluru-based Janalakshmi Financial Services, Guwahati-based RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Chennai-based Suryoday, Bangalore-based Ujjivan and Varanasi-based Utkarsh.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union (EU), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Extend Small Business Initiative to Turkmenistan
The European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced the extension of the Small Business Initiative, a program that provides loans and technical assistance to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to Turkmenistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Japan’s Orix Corporation Acquires Additional 6% Equity in Cambodia’s Acleda Bank
Orix Corporation, a financial services provider based in Tokyo, Japan, recently announced that it has acquired a 6.25-percent equity stake in Acleda Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that provides deposits and microcredit in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Bandhan Bank Sets Deposit Interest Rates, Will Open 3 Branches in South India
Bandhan Bank, an Indian commercial bank based in Kolkata, recently announced that it plans to open one branch each in the cities of Bengaluru, Koramangala and Bannerghatta, all of which are located in southern India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India Advises Members to Reduce Interest Rates
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade organization composed of 47 Indian microlenders, has advised its members to reduce their interest rates voluntarily by “at least 25 basis points” [1] by the end of September 2015.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Holdings Raises $25m from Accion, LeapFrog, Lok Capital to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in India
IFMR Holdings, an arm of Indian nonprofit IFMR Trust, recently raised USD 25 million from Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization; LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius; and Lok Capital, an India-based microfinance investment vehicle.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru Enacts National Financial Inclusion Strategy
The government of Peru recently enacted a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) after consultation with the World Bank Group (WBG), a multilateral development organization that aims to improve living standards in developing countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Disburses $15m in Local Currency to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Primarily in Rural Areas
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently announced that it will disburse a syndicated loan in local currency equivalent to USD 15 million to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan, a subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International.