The Dignity Fund, a private partnership founded in 2005, brings capital to the microfinance industry in an effort to advance the upward mobility of the poor. The Dignity Fund seeks to increase the number of poor households with access to credit, savings and other financial services by providing debt financing to microfinance institutions (MFIs).
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Upcoming Events åö Chicago Microfinance Conference (CMFC)
May 25th 2007, Chicago, USA
Established by the University of Chicago, Kellogg School of Management, and Harris School of Public Policy Studies, the conference aims to “advance strategic debate of the future of microfinance” and bring together practitioners, academics and industry leaders. Guests will include Lara Strom of Pro Mujer, and Paul Christensen who manages ShoreCap International Ltd, a private equity fund which invests in small businesses in developing economies. A keynote address will be given by Vikram Akula, founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution based in India.
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Unitus Partners with Credex to Expand Access to Microfinance in Mexico
Unitus, a nonprofit organization committed to fighting global poverty through microfinance, will partner with Credex, a MFI in Mexico. Unitus was founded in 2000, by Bob Gay, Mike Murray, Joseph Grenny and Todd Manwaring, and is dedicated to providing capital investments and consulting services to financially sustainable MFIs worldwide. As of 2006, Unitus had 10 MFI partners worldwide serving more than 820,000 poor clients and as of December 2006, the Unitus portfolio of partners provided loans to 1.2 million micro-entrepreneurs and their families in India, Kenya, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Indonesia. The details of the partnership between Credex and Unitus have not been announced. Credex, founded in 2002, targets the working poor in southwestern and central Mexico and has plans to expand across the nation. Since its establishment Credex has disbursed over 30,000 loans and currently serves close to 12,000 active borrowers with a $5 million loan portfolio. Credex does not report to the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse and no other information is publicly available about its performance. The partnership hopes to bring life-changing financial services to more than 82,000 customers by 2009, an increase from 12,000 today. Credex is Unitus’s second microfinance partner in Mexico, along with Pro Mujer Mexico.
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Who’s Who in Microfinance: Unitus
Unitus, a US nonprofit organization supporting microfinance internationally, was founded in 2000 by Bob Gay, Mike Murray, Joseph Grenny and Todd Manwaring with the goal of fighting global poverty through increasing access to microfinance. Unitus provides capital investments and consulting services to financially sustainable MFIs worldwide. As of May 2006, Unitus has ten MFI partners in Mexico (Pro Mujer), Argentina (FIS) and India (ASA-GV, Bandhan, BSS, Grameen Koota, SKS, Swadhaar, Ujjivan) that, as of March 31, 2006, combined to have a total gross portfolio of USD 49.6 mn.
Unitus Releases the Details of Its Efficiency-Enhancing Initiative Funded for $1.46m by the Gates Foundation
Unitus, a global non-profit organization which assists microfinance institutions (MFIs) with accessing market capital, officially announced a USD 1.46 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant money will fund a new project geared toward enhancing efficiency within the microfinance industry. Unitus will analyze the business practices four of its “partner MFIs,” and recommend steps to improving their overall business efficiency. The ultimate goal is to create a report at the end of the three-year project which will provide insight into efficiency-enhancing measures that can be utilized by MFIs across the globe. According to Unitus’ overview of the project, the four MFIs which most likely will be researched are Grameen Koota (from India), Bandhan (also Indian), Pro Mujer Mexico, and Fondo Inversion Social (Argentina).
Microfinance Networks (wholesale transnational): Defined and Listed
Microfinance “networks” facilitate financial services to the poor by offering support to lower-level partners. The term “network” refers to the main organization and its partner organizations as a whole. The diversity of network structures makes a precise definition difficult, and herein we only define and list what we call “wholesale networks” defined as transnational, not national or regional, partnerships.
Adding to the challenge of a clean definition, some organizations such as ACCION and Credit and Savings for the Hard-Core Poor (CASHPOR) simultaneously exist as individual institutions as well as a network of secondary partners.
Unfortunately, much of the confusion about networks is self-imposed. Donors prefer to give to actual micro-lenders “where the rubber hits the road”, not supporting organizations. Networks at times present the aggregate micro-banking activities of their partners with the implication that they themselves actually provide microfinance services. Another opaque outcome generated by the counter-incentives inherent to donation-driven “development aid”.
Twenty-one second-tier networks are listed below. Fourteen of those are based in North America, one in South America, one in Asia, one in
“Networks” can be grouped broadly in four ways: 1) Degree to which they provide technical support, 2) Extent of ownership over partners (0-100%), 3) whether they invest in partners through loans or equity (or both), and 4) amount of donor cash inflow (private or public) to secondary partners (p. 8).
Microfinance networks are either involved only within the microfinance industry and/or in multi-sector development. The World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) focuses on microfinance and business development services for instance, while Catholic Relief Services “works in microfinance, community health, education, and emergency response among other development sectors.” (p. 4). With the exception of ShoreCap International, a subsidiary of Shore Bank in
Numerous subcategories further clarify distinctions between networks—this information appears in the article, “What is a Network? The Diversity of Networks in Microfinance Today.” Broadly speaking however, “NGOs, cooperatives, non-bank financial institutions, MFIs, and banks,” may all be part of a network. While some of these organizations were simply strengthened by higher-level partners, many were formed by them. Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) for example, both supports existing institutions and creates others.
Due to the diverse roles different networks play, microfinance institutions may belong to multiple networks such as SHARE Microfinance, Ltd. of
WHOLESALE TRANSNATIONAL MICROFINANCE NETWORKS:
ACCION, US
Catholic Relief Service (CRS), US
Developpement International Desjardins (DID), Canada
Finca International (FINCA), US
Freedom from Hunger (FFH), US
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Canada
Opportunity International, US
Pro Mujer, US
Save the Children, US
ShoreCap International, US
Unitus, US
Women’s World Banking (WWB), US
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), US
World Vision, US
International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI), Costa Rica
Credit and Savings for the Hard-Core Poor (CASHPOR), Malaysia
Banking with the Poor Network (B.W.T.P.), Australia
Ecumenical Church Loan Fund International (ECLOF), Switzerland
PlaNet Finance, France
Microfinance Centre for Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, Poland
World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI), Belgium