The US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has released two papers that offer insight into different issues faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs).
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Move to Recover “Pre-Crisis” Loans Worth $1.4b in Andhra Pradesh, India
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh, India, have started talks to recover outstanding loans amounting to INR 7,000 crore (approximately USD 1.4 billion), which they have been unable to collect since the repayment dropoff in the state started in 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2011 Annual Meeting Occurring on September 20 – 22 Includes Haiti Investment Workshop
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an effort established by former US President Bill Clinton in 2005 to bring together a community of global leaders to alleviate poverty, create a cleaner environment and increase access to health care and education, is holding its 2011 Annual Meeting in New York City, US, from September 20 to September 22, 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Launches Interactive “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor” With Funding From Canada’s MasterCard Foundation
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) a US-based nonprofit organization that publishes financial and social performance information from microfinance stakeholders, recently launched the “Africa Map of Financial Inclusion for the Poor,” an interactive tool that shows country-specific microfinance information in the context of socioeconomic indicators.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Microfinance Transparency (AMT) 2011 Investor’s Fair in Accra, Ghana, October 13 – 14
Event Name: The 2011 Investor’s Fair
Event Date: October 13 – October 14, 2011
Event Location: Hotel Alisa, Accra, Ghana
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog to Invest $15m in India’s Shriram Group to Expand Microinsurance, Savings Offerings
LeapFrog Investments, a US-based private equity fund focusing on microinsurance activities, will invest USD 15 million in the Shriram Group, an India-based provider of financial services to low-income individuals, to help the organization expand its offering of microinsurance and savings products for up to 10 million clients.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Selective Knowledge: Reporting Biases in Microfinance Data, by Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, Published by Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College
By Jonathan Bauchet and Jonathan Morduch, published by the Financial Access Initiative (FAI) at New York University’s Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Hunter College, June 2009, 39 pages, available at:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/morduch/documents/articles/2008-06-Selective-knowledge.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: New Criteria Announced for Social Performance Reporting Awards from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Ford Foundation, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)
The Social Performance Reporting Awards, instituted in 2009 to recognize microfinance institutions (MFIs) committed to “transparent social performance monitoring and management,” recently announced that this year, in addition to promoting MFIs on the basis on transparency, the award will also recognize “good practices in social performance management” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equifax India to Launch Microfinance Credit Bureau In Partnership with Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime, ReligareFinvest, Sundaram Finance, Union Bank of India
The Indian unit of Equifax Credit Information Services, a US-based consumer credit reporting agency, has partnered with the following six Indian banks to launch a credit bureau devoted to transactions in the microfinance sector: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime, ReligareFinvest, Sundaram Finance and Union Bank of India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Partners With Unitus Capital Looking to Invest $40m to Increase Microinsurance Penetration in India
LeapFrog Investments, a US-based private equity fund focusing on microinsurance activities, is reportedly looking for opportunities to deploy up to USD 40 million in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s MicroSave Publishes “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” by Ann-Byrd Platt, Akhilesh Singh, Sachin Bansal, Anurodh Giri, Akhand J Tiwari re “No Frill” Microfinance Accounts
MicroSave, an Indian for-profit technical assistance, training and resource center, recently published “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” a study on India’s “No Frill Accounts (NFAs),” a basic account option legally required of private banks as part of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) “Financial Inclusion Programme.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cresa Microfinance, Sharada’s Women’s Association for Weaker Section (SWAWS) Microfinance of India Face Possible Bankruptcy
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), an association of Indian microfinance lenders, recently reported that several small and medium-sized microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India may soon file for bankruptcy as a result of decreasing liquidity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Makes $13.5m Equity Investment in Apollo Investments for Microinsurance in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
Leapfrog Investments, a private equity fund that supports microinsurance initiatives, recently made a USD 13.5 million equity investment in Apollo Investments Limited, an insurance company that operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, to improve access to microinsurance for low-income individuals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Confirms Launch of New Fee-Based Features in Mid-2011
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US–based nonprofit data provider, recently announced that it will launch new features on a fee basis in mid-2011. MIX previously announced the launch of a pilot effort to allow the public to test -drive the fee-based features, as was covered by MicroCapital.org in June 2010 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), High Mark to Launch Credit Bureau in India
Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of the Indian microfinance sector, is collaborating with High Mark Credit Information Services Limited, a private credit reporting agency based in India, to establish a tracking system to share client data among MFIN members.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI) Releases Report “Charting the Course: Best Practices and Tools for Voluntary Debt Restructuring in Microfinance”
The International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI), a US-based NGO, recently released a report, “Charting the Course: Best Practices and Tools for Voluntary Debt Restructuring in Microfinance”, that aims to develop guidelines for debt restructuring for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India to Investigate Claims of Improper Handling of Mutual Benefit Trusts (MBTs) by SKS Microfinance, SHARE Microfin and Spandana Sphoorty
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of Indian microfinance lenders, has set up a committee to investigate claims that SKS Microfinance, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI); SHARE Microfin, a regulated non-banking finance company (NBFC); and Spandana Sphoorty, another for-profit MFI, took advantage of clients through the use of mutual benefit trusts (MBTs) to converting the institutions into for-profit entities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Launches Pricing Data Report on India’s Microfinance Industry
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization that aims to provide information on credit products and pricing in a clear and uniform fashion, recently released the pricing data report of its Transparent Pricing Initiative in India.