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Jul 2013
International Labour Organization Official Joins the Microcredit Summit Campaign Executive Committee
July, 30 2013
United States - International Labour Organization (ILO) Assistant Director General for Policy, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, joins the Microcredit Summit Campaign leadership to help guide the Campaign’s mission to promote the kind of microfinance that helps poor families lift themselves out of severe poverty. ...
Ghana: Microfinance Rules To Be Tightened
July, 30 2013
Ghana - Following moves by Ghana’s regulator to improve capital requirements across the financial industry, with hikes in recent years for universal banks and non-bank financial institutions, the microfinance sector is now slated for an increase, prompted in part by a spate of recent lender failures that led some savers to withdraw their holdings. ...
CGAP Study: Slowing Growth Key to Avoiding a Microcredit Crisis in Bangladesh
July, 30 2013
Bangladesh - A new report released today by CGAP, Averting a Microcredit Crisis in Bangladesh, indicates that during the period 2008 to 2010, Bangladesh microfinance institutions (MFIs) successfully averted a microcredit crisis. ...
Peru to Improve Social Programs Management with IDB Support
July, 29 2013
Lima, Peru - A $30 million policy-based loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will support Peru in its effort to strengthen the management of its Ministry of Social Development and Inclusion (MIDIS) ...
Sri Lanka: New Legislation to Regulate Micro Finance Companies
July, 28 2013
Sri Lanka - Legislation to regulate and supervise microfinance institutions, including finance companies and banks accepting deposits from the public, will be introduced in Parliament ...
Chile, Peru and Colombia Top Locales for Women Entrepreneurs in Latin America
July, 26 2013
Latin America - The Women’s Entrepreneurial VentureScope (WEVentureScope) assesses the environment for women in business in Latin America and the Caribbean. It measures business operating risks, access to finance, capacity, skill-building opportunities and social services in the region’s nations ...
Chile: Banco Internacional to Support the Agriculture Sector with New Financing Plans
July, 26 2013
Chile - The Agriculture Minister, Luis Mayol, this morning attended the signing of an agreement between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Banco Internacional for a loan of US$ 25 million to be extended to Banco Internacional to set up a new business unit focused on increasing financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Chile’s agro-industry sector ...
Philippines: Draft Rules for Microfinance NGOs Out
July, 25 2013
Philippines - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released the draft rules for nongovernment microfinance organizations as part of broader efforts to support businesses of low-income households. ...
India: How Anti-Poverty Programs Go Viral
July, 25 2013
India - Getting the well-connected to spread the word helps more people learn about microfinance programs in rural India ...
AfDB Announces New Financial Plan to Boost Job Creation in Africa
July, 24 2013
Africa - African Development Bank (AfDB) directors have approved a multi-million shilling programme to ensure inclusive growth on the continent ...
ADB Plans to Boost Private Sector Financing in Azerbaijan
July, 24 2013
Azerbaijan - The Asian Development Bank plans to expand the private sector funding in Azerbaijan, Principal Investment Specialist at the ADB's Private Sector Department, Rainer Hartel, said at a press conference on issuing a $50 million loan to AccessBank in Baku on July 24 ...
World Bank Group Delivers Nearly $53 Billion to Support Developing Countries in FY13
July, 23 2013
Washington, USA - The World Bank Group committed $52.6 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees to help promote economic growth, increase shared prosperity, and fight extreme poverty in developing countries during fiscal year 2013, which ended on June 30 ...
Helping India’s ‘Forgotten’ Residents
July, 23 2013
Bangalore, India - Duck down an alleyway, a mud track leads to about 300 dwellings, many little more than tarpaulin sheets strung over wooden struts. The residents are India’s forgotten: “ultra-poor” families of migrant labourers, many living on less than $1.25 a day. ...
Venezuela: Ensuring Microcredit's Primary Goal is Changing Lives
July, 23 2013
Caracas, Venezuela - Microfinance is essentially social, but its expansion and evolution towards diversified financial services for those who are excluded from the conventional system has compelled it to develop new codes and practices to reinforce the message that its goal is people - particularly the poor. ...
Clearing the Path to Financial Capability in Latin America
July, 22 2013
Latin America - There are many obstacles on the road to good financial decisions. Financial choices are complex, and so are many of the products and tools available. ...
MicroCredit Enterprises Partners with Freedom from Hunger to Offer Health-Related Services to Clients of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
July, 22 2013
Global - MicroCredit Enterprises (MCE), a US-based NGO microfinance fund manager, and Freedom from Hunger, a US-based NGO that aims to alleviate hunger and poverty, are collaborating on a project to alleviate loan defaults caused by poor health and strengthen clients’ abilities to endure income-producing activities. ...
Tanzania: TPB Launches Banking Service
July, 18 2013
Tanzania - Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) has introduced a new banking service known as ‘TPB Popote’ to increase financial inclusion among the people living in villages where the facilities are inadequate ...
India: Will Microfinance Firms Make Good Banks?
July, 18 2013
India - Are MFIs, which mostly operate in rural areas, best suited for the complex world of banking? Or, as many observers ask, are they to be trusted in the wake of their unsavoury lending practices in Andhra Pradesh, which nearly capsized the sector a few years ago ...
Asia's Poor Should Be Helped to Save for a Better Home
July, 17 2013
Global - Housing remains one of the most pressing issues in Asia. According to UN figures, half of the world's inadequate housing is located in the region ...
A New Financial Model: Putting the Individual at the Centre
July, 16 2013
Global - We must be more attuned to these individual clients if we are to devise a model of financial inclusion that actually makes a difference in their lives. ...
New Research by CGAP, KfW, MIX Shows that Microcredit Interest Rates Dropped 2.7% from 2004-2011
July, 16 2013
Global - "The fact that interest rates are driven mainly by funding and operational costs shows that at the aggregate level, there are no signs of systematic mission drift in the industry", said Matthias Adler, microfinance expert at KfW ...
MFX Solutions Launches “Risk Management Initiative in Microfinance (RIM)” for Microfinance Institutions
July, 15 2013
The US - MFX Solutions, a US-based company that provides currency hedging solutions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently launched the Risk Management Initiative in Microfinance (RIM) in an effort to mitigate challenges MFIs face in risk management. ...
Taking Financial Services to Africa's Poorest Consumers
July, 15 2013
Africa - In conclusion, the challenge of developing the financial sector in most underdeveloped countries can be summarized using one word: costs. ...
Latest on Branchless Banking from Indonesia
July, 12 2013
Indonesia - The 2011 Global Financial Inclusion Index finds only 19.6% of the population have formal accounts. Indonesia has approximately one hundred million people who cannot, or do not, access financial services of any kind across a vast and diverse economy ...
How Better Data Can Galvanize Financial Inclusion
July, 11 2013
Global - The study, “Financial Access 2012,” was co-authored by teams from the International Finance Corporation and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor and its findings show a growing trend towards greater financial inclusion worldwide, despite broad variance between high and low-income nations ...
India: Microfinance Institutions Get a Boost from Development Funds
July, 10 2013
India - "Today, DFIs and social funds are investing into the MFI sector," said Alok Prasad, CEO, MFIN. "Unlike pure private equity funds, they have a developmental mandate and seek moderate returns over the medium term. ...
Philippines: Bank Savings of Microfinance Clients Outpace Loans in 1Q -- BSP
July, 09 2013
Philippines - The savings accounts of microfinance clients as of the first quarter this year has outpaced loans they took out from banks, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday ...
Recognizing Two Approaches to Balancing Returns in Microfinance
July, 08 2013
Global - Acknowledging these different views is important because without clearer and more accurate investment propositions, microfinance will progressively alienate all its investors ...
Pakistan: Microfinance Sector - Survival of the Fittest
July, 08 2013
Pakistan - In the times to come, while the funds might be available in abundance, its acquisition might not be as easy as it was in the past. The microfinance catalysts (MFIs, MFBs and RSPs) are required to gun the engine to attract the potential investors and muster funds. ...
Tanzania: NMB, European Bank Seal Sh140 Billion Deal
July, 05 2013
Tanzania - National Microfinance Bank (NMB) has signed a 70 million Euro (about 140bn-) loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the local bank's growing Micro, Small and Medium Business (MSME) customers ...
The 2013 Microfinance Barometer: Who Will Serve the Next Billion Clients?
July, 03 2013
Global - However serving the next billion clients requires addressing different market segments and financial needs with specific requirements in terms of distribution and products – for example, clients in rural areas, or those in need of supply chain financing ...
Old Mutual to Buy Kenya Microfinance Company to Expand in Africa
July, 03 2013
Kenya - Old Mutual Plc (OML), the U.K.’s third-largest insurer, said it plans to buy a controlling stake in Kenyan lender Faulu Kenya DTM Ltd. to tap growth in Africa. ...
FINCA Azerbaijan Places Bonds Worth 10 Million Manat
July, 03 2013
Azerbaijan - On July 1, 2013, FINCA Azerbaijan Non-Banking Credit Organization completed its inaugural bond issue in Azerbaijan's capital markets, as the State Committee for Securities registered 10,000 bonds, each with 1,000 AZN nominal value, for a total issuance of AZN 10 million and with a maturity of 3 years, according to a press-release by the organization ...
FMO Arranges $60.5M Loan for Cambodian MFI
July, 02 2013
Cambodia - FMO, the Dutch development bank, has arranged for a syndicated loan of $60.5 million to PRASAC, Cambodia’s top microfinance institution ...
Cambodia: Informal Lending Still Thriving
July, 02 2013
Cambodia - The expanding banking sector and the spread of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rural areas have failed to elbow informal, unlicensed money lending out of the market, industry experts say ...
Bangladesh: Micro-Borrowers Not Trapped in Debt - Study
July, 02 2013
Bangladesh - Microcredit has helped borrowers earn and consume more, accumulate assets, invest in children’s schooling, and move out of poverty, according to a recent study ...
Cambodia: Loan of US$ 60,5 Million for MSME
July, 01 2013
Cambodia - PRASAC, the leading micro finance institution in Cambodia marked its debut in the syndicated loan market with a USD 60.5 million facility ...
Does the Introduction of Movable Collateral Registries Increase Firms’ Access to Finance?
July, 01 2013
Global - To reduce asymmetric information problems associated with extending credit and increase the chances of loan repayment, banks typically require collateral from their borrowers. ...
India: Look South for Ways to Bring Banking to the Poor
July, 01 2013
India - In the last 20 years, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, has licensed just a dozen new private sector banks. Now, the RBI has invited applications for a new round of permits and Monday was the deadline ...
Malawi Joins Global Better Than Cash Alliance
July, 01 2013
Malawi - Today the Government of Malawi announced that it is joining the Better Than Cash Alliance, committing to transition government cash payments to electronic disbursements. ...
Luxembourg Stock Exchange Launches Responsible Investment Index
July, 01 2013
Luxembourg - The Luxembourg Stock Exchange announces the launch of a new responsible investment index, named Lux RI Fund Index, on 1 July 2013 ...

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