Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country’s central bank, recently announced that it is requiring microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country to establish a “Client Protection Fund”[1] to which they must deposit 1 percent of their annual net profit.
Search Results for: microfinance financial crisis
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Development Program (UNDP); United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Support Bank of Sierra Leone in Launching Mobile Financial Services Guidelines
The Bank of Sierra Leone, the central bank of the country, has partnered with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), a member of the UN that invests knowledge and other resources into developing countries, and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN agency that works to increase access to microfinance and other forms of capital in developing countries, to launch the first mobile financial services guidelines in Sierra Leone [1].
SPECIAL REPORT: Crédit Rural de Guinée Wins $110k European Microfinance Award for Response to Ebola
Crédit Rural de Guinée (CRG) has been announced as the winner of the 6th European Microfinance Award, focusing this year on Microfinance in Post-disaster, Post-conflict Areas & Fragile States, for its innovative response to the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. The Award was presented during European Microfinance Week by Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, during a ceremony on 19th November held at the European Investment Bank headquarters in Luxembourg.
SPECIAL REPORT: Anne Contreras and Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week, Sustainable Growth, Serving Clients in Zones Affected by Boko Haram
MicroCapital: Would you please discuss this year’s focus on sustainable development?
Anne Contreras: Given the recent adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this issue is particularly relevant. The plenary on “Sustainable Development Goals and financial inclusion” will address the topic directly. Breakout sessions will also cover related topics: How can we implement clean cooking options to decrease mortality and mitigate air pollution? How can practitioners bundle finance and training to serve farmers? What can networks do in these areas?
SPECIAL REPORT: e-MFP Announces Finalists for $112k Sixth European Microfinance Award in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States: Crédit Rural de Guinée of Guinea, First Microfinance Institution of Syria, Taytay Sa Kauswagan of the Philippines
The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network of approximately 120 microfinance individuals and organizations, has announced that there are three finalists for the Sixth European Microfinance Award, which is themed “Microfinance in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States” for 2015 [1].
SPECIAL REPORT: On “Microfinance in Crisis,” an Interview with Edvardas Bumsteinas of the European Investment Bank, Host of the European Microfinance Award Ceremony
MicroCapital: Please tell us a bit about how you to came to work in microfinance.
Edvardas Bumsteinas: My interest in microfinance began with a summer job some 20 years ago when I was a student at the London School of Economics. At the request of Lithuania’s Open Society Institute, I spent one of my summers helping to set up external financing facilities for the Lithuanian Credit Union’s network. During my meetings with staff members and clients, I was impressed with positive results that those member-owned financial institutions were having in their communities.
MC: In reading about the European Investment Bank (EIB)-funded Microfinance in Crisis project, I was struck by the language “The main thing is to make the system user-centric, not provider-centric, and to consider microfinance (and more broadly finance) as a common good.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mutual Funds in India Invest $157m in Secured Debentures of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Equitas, Janalakshmi, SKS, Ujjivan
Several mutual funds based in India, including Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Prudential Mutual Fund, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Reliance Mutual Fund and State Bank of India (SBI) Mutual Fund, recently invested in secured debentures issued by several Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Morocco’s Microfinance Market; Trends in Funding Financial Inclusion; Growth Projections in Islamic Microfinance
“Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco: Acting early, acting right;” published by the International Finance Corporation in partnership with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development; the Danish International Development Agency; Japan; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs; and UKaid; October 2014; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/5e1e5a0047850bdba0d4f5299ede9589/IFC+Morocco+MicroFinance+Crisis+report.English.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UAE’s Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development Activates $200m Loan to Egyptian Government for Microfinance
The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, which is backed by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, recently announced that its November 2014 agreement to loan USD 200 million to the government of Egypt has been activated.
SPECIAL FEATURE: Are Microfinance Institutions and Investors Removed from Business Reality?
This opinion piece was contributed by David MacDougall, a consultant based in the US city of New York.
Microfinance inspires optimism. Investors – especially private equity investors – anticipate handsome returns; aid agencies see strong social impact; and microfinance institution (MFI) managers are certain they can grow themselves out of every tight situation. While microfinance can play an important role in development, most MFIs nevertheless are relatively simple financial institutions that need to be grounded in sound market and business principles rather than pie-in-the-sky expectations. These “Business 101” principles, which may sound like common sense truisms, in my experience, have not trickled down to many MFIs. In over 10 years of examining the viability of MFI business models as an analyst and risk manager, I have seen decision makers fail again and again to do reality checks. What’s still urgently needed is sound market analysis and professional risk management.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UAE’s Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development Loans $200m to Egyptian Government for Microfinance
The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (Khalifa Fund), a fund backed by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, has announced that it will loan USD 200 million to the government of Egypt to fund microfinance programs in that country.
SPECIAL REPORT: Over-indebtedness, Microfinance and Environment Award, Conflict Zones at e-MFP’s European Microfinance Week
MicroCapital: Please describe one of the key issues to be covered this year at European Microfinance Week.
Christoph Pausch: The question of over-indebtedness is still the major risk for the sector, as identified in the most recent Banana Skins survey. We had a very successful plenary last year exploring the issue from a research perspective. This year, we’re taking a very different approach by bringing CEOs of leading microfinance institutions (MFIs) from three countries – Bangladesh, Morocco, and Mexico – to discuss how they’ve been dealing with the issue. Each of these countries has had a different experience, with Bangladesh having successfully averted a potential crisis by slowing market growth (as described in an excellent paper by Stuart Rutherford and Greg Chen). Morocco was one of the original “microfinance crisis” countries during 2008 and 2009, and the MFIs there have had an interesting experience in resolving the problems from that period. Finally, Mexico is a major market with serious concerns regarding over-indebtedness, and MFIs there are working to avert a potential crisis.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group (WBG) Loans $12m, Donates $12m to Government of Mozambique for Financial Sector Reform, Including to Boost Financial Inclusion
The World Bank Group (WBG), a US-based multilateral financial institution recently approved a USD 25 million financing package consisting of a loan of USD 12.5 million and a grant of USD 12.5 million to support the “First Programmatic Financial Sector Development Policy Operation (DPO)”[1] of the government of Mozambique.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION WRAP-UP: “Financial Inclusion and Development: Recent Impact Evidence;” by Robert Cull, Tilman Ehrbeck, Nina Holle; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)
“Financial Inclusion and Development: Recent Impact Evidence;” by Robert Cull, Tilman Ehrbeck and Nina Holle; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) as Focus Note Number 92; April 2014; 12 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/FocusNote-Financial-Inclusion-and-Development-April-2014.pdf
The authors of this document argue that “financial inclusion is an important development priority”[1] that helps poor people around the world improve their lives.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Over-indebtedness in Mexico; Achieving Customer Centricity; Managing Over-indebtedness
“Over-Indebtedness in Mexico: Its Effect on Borrowers;” published by Microfinance CEO Working Group; May 2014; 32 pages; available at http://microfinanceceoworkinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Over-Indebtedness-in-Mexico-Its-Effect-on-Borrowers-552014.pdf
This report cautions lending institutions in Mexico about rising levels of over-indebtedness – meaning more borrowers cannot reasonably repay their debts – which can threaten the financial system as well as the economic outlook of low-income individuals.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” Published by the Development Research Group of the World Bank
“Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” by Shahidur R. Khandker and Hussain A. Samad, published by The World Bank, March 2014, 50 pages, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2417519
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh have experienced rapid growth over the past two decades and in 2008 disbursed approximately USD 1.8 billion to approximately 30 million clients.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Responsible Equity Exits in Microfinance; Greenfield Microfinance Models in Africa; Mobile Financial Services Usage Among Rural Women in India, Philippines
“The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales;” by Daniel Rozas, Deborah Drake, Estelle Lahaye, Katharine McKee and Danielle Piskadlo; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); April 2014; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Art-of-the-Responsible-Exit-April-2014.pdf
This paper explores how microfinance investment intermediaries (MIIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) can exit responsibly from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in which they have invested equity as well as how investors can contribute to healthy development of the overall market. The authors conducted six case studies and interviewed representatives from MIIs, nongovernmental organizations, DFIs, MFIs and merger-and-acquisition specialists.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Using Subsidies for Inclusive Insurance: Lessons from Agriculture and Health;” by Ruth Vargas Hill, Gissele Gajate-Garrido, Caroline Phily, and Aparna Dalal; Published by International Labour Organization
“Using Subsidies for Inclusive Insurance: Lessons from Agriculture and Health;” by Ruth Vargas Hill, Gissele Gajate-Garrido, Caroline Phily, and Aparna Dalal; published by International Labour Organization; January 2014; 55 pages; available at http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/publications/mp29
This report was published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a nonprofit research institution housed within the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) that promotes the development of insurance products and risk-mitigation markets in developing economies.