According to the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2012, a recent report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Peru is the top country in microfinance for the fifth consecutive year due to its strong regulatory environment.
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SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Platform Remittances Action Group, GIZ, PHB Development Release Handbook: “Financial Literacy for Remittances and Diaspora Investments”
This afternoon, the Remittances Action Group of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) met to share member experiences, plan future action steps and announce the release of the “Financial Literacy for Remittances and Diaspora Investments” handbook. The document, which is the first of three planned outputs to be completed by the group, was published by German bilateral development agency GIZ, with participation from PHB Development, a Belgium-based consulting firm, and e-MFP, which is a Luxembourg-based membership organization. As the handbook was released as a compact disc and on paper, it is not available online other than via the above link as of today. Details on the other proceedings of the meeting, such as the other planned outputs of the Remittance Action Group and news from action group members, are slated for publication by MicroCapital in a separate brief.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CGAP, MicroSave Host Virtual Conference on “Client Insights: How Can Providers Listen and Learn from Their Clients”, October 30-31, 2012
Event Name: Client Insights: How Can Providers Listen and Learn from Their Clients?
Event Date: October 30-October 31, 2012
Event Location: Online
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LendmeMula, eTranzact, ZimSwitch to Offer Access to Credit via MulaConnect Card
British payday lender Lendme Limited reportedly has partnered with eTranzact, a Nigeria-based mobile money service provider, to offer clients in Zimbabwe immediate access to funds that they borrow from the LendmeMula service.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II Loans $2.6m to Kenya Women Finance Trust, Incofin Investment Management to Finance Technical Assistance Project for AB Bank Zambia
The Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), a Kenyan deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI), recently received a EUR 2 million (USD 2.6 million) loan from Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund (RIF) II, a Belgian microfinance investment vehicle (MIV).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution AccessBank of Azerbaijan Launches Credit Cards
AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, began offering credit cards to its customers on October 10, 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Social Investments Loans $1.5m to AccessBank Tanzania, $1.3m to EKI of Bosnia and Herzegovina
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned USD 1 million through the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), one of the microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) it manages, to AccessBank Tanzania, a commercial bank established as part of Germany’s AccessHolding in 2007.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $1.9m in Advans of Cameroun, $1.2m in MicroCred of Senegal
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently disbursed the approximate equivalent of USD 1.9 million in subdebt to Advans Cameroun and the equivalent of USD 1.2 million in debt to MicroCred Senegal.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Apexes; Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic; Selling Microinsurance
“A New Look at Microfinance Apexes;” by Sarah Forster, et al; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); July 2012; 26 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.58459/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Thailand’s Government Banks May Refinance Microloans Via Mobile Banking
Thailand’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) reportedly is considering turning to mobile banking to help reduce over-indebtedness, which has been caused by a failure “to seek support from and convince unofficial money lenders to relieve debts,” according to a quote attributed to Deputy Finance Minister Viroon Tejapaibul.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $10m to Microfinance Institution AccessBank of Azerbaijan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based international finance institution, recently signed a five-year, USD 10 million loan agreement with AccessBank, an Azerbaijani microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) to Place Equity Investment, Grant in Microfinance Institution ACME of Haiti
The Multilateral Investment Fund, an autonomous fund administered by the US-based Inter-American Development Bank, has approved an equity investment of an undisclosed amount in Haitian microfinance institution (MFI) Association pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Diamond Trust Bank of East Africa Looks to Raise $21m
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), a publicly traded bank operating in East Africa as an affiliate of the nonprofit Aga Khan Development Network, reportedly has opened a rights issue in an effort to raise KES 1.81 billion (USD 21.5 million).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 2012 Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Annual Conference: Building Inclusive Markets, Arlington, Virginia, USA, November 4-8
Event Name: 2012 Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Annual Conference, Building Inclusive Markets: Impact Through Financial and Enterprise Solutions
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics of Pakistan Creates Centre of Excellence in Islamic Microfinance
The nonprofit AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) of Pakistan recently launched the Centre of Excellence on Islamic Microfinance in order to provide Shariah guidance and capacity building to microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silatech, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Partner with Al-Amal Microfinance Bank, Alkuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank to Provide Microsavings for Youth in Yemen
Silatech, a Qatar-based social enterprise, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the development agency of the German government, have partnered with Al-Amal Microfinance Bank (AMB) and Alkuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank (AIMB), both of Yemen, to extend financial access to Yemeni youth through a microsavings program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Austrian Development Bank Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB) to Invest $18.75m in European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), Austria’s official development bank, recently pledged an investment of EUR 15.0 million (USD 18.75 million) to the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) based in Luxembourg.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) Celebrates 2nd Anniversary, Reports Positive Financials for 2011
The Regional Micro-, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) SA, a Luxembourg-based investment fund that focuses on supporting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region, recently celebrated its second anniversary by presenting a summary of 2011 achievements along with an overview of its goals for 2012.