Microfinance

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  • Can MTOs and Hub Providers Accelerate the Adoption of Mobile Enabled International Remittances?

    CGAP Technology Blog
    Camilo Tellez
    3 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    This is the fifth and final post in our series on remittances and branchless banking.  You can read the first four posts here.  So far, we have highlighted the emerging success factors and challenges featured in our 2012 landscaping exercise.  Paolo Baltao from Globe’s GCASH shared with us the lessons learned over a period of eight years during which time he led one of the first services to link remittances to a mobile wallet.   Subsequently, Stefan Staschen explored the untapped opportunities in leveraging the large flows of remittances between Russia and Tajikistan by linking them…

  • A Call for Caution in Judging the Merits of Financial Education: A Review of ‘Bridging the Gap’

    Center for Financial Inclusion Blog
    Center for Financial Inclusion
    15 May 2012 | 8:23 am
    > Posted by Chris Dunford, Senior Research Fellow, Freedom From Hunger Bridging the Gapis a most welcome and ambitious review of the state of financial education. Its authors, Anamitra Deb and Mike Kubzansky of the Monitor Group, were commissioned and funded by the Citi Foundation. There is much real value to this work, and I will point out the important contributions the report makes. I will also point out serious concerns about some of the points made and how they may distort the experience to date and the promise of financial education. Please read it for yourself rather than depend on…

  • Exorbitant Interest Rates in Russia: A Response from the Russian Microfinance Industry

    Microfinance Blog
    Mikhail Mamuta
    11 May 2012 | 5:04 pm
    The exorbitant interest rates offered by so-called  “microlending” companies (who look much more like payday lenders or garden variety loan sharks) to clients of the Russian Post  recently gave rise to a wave of indignation on the part of the public, government, mass media and the responsible microfinance industry.  Microlending has existed in Russia for 15 years but it was not until 2011 that special legislation came into force, providing for a clearer legal status of microlending MFIs. These institutions play an important role in the country, serving people who do not have access to…

  • Can the Microfinance Sector Help Deliver Clean Energy?

    Microfinance Blog
    Chris Neidl
    14 May 2012 | 7:35 am
    A Negros Women For Tomorrow (NWTF) business development officer demonstrates the features of a solar portable lighting device during a group meeting in Palawan, the Philippines. Offering financial products that enable poor clients to purchase clean, low-carbon alternatives to kerosene, firewood and other conventional fuels is perhaps the most direct way in which microfinance can be mobilized to combat climate change and preserve ecological resources. Of course, from the perspective of a client who lacks access to modern energy, the appeal of alternatives like small-scale solar charging…

  • More than Semantics: The Evolution from “Microcredit” to “Financial Inclusion”

    Microfinance Blog
    Tilman Ehrbeck
    16 May 2012 | 12:18 pm
    Over the past 15 years, the field that CGAP aspires to advance has broadened from the initial focus on microcredit to microfinance, to access-to-finance, and most recently financial inclusion.  This evolution happened for good reasons as practitioners, donors, academics, and policymakers learned more about the financial needs of poor families in the informal economy, and success and scale in the early endeavors resulted in important learning and new frontiers.  As a public good at these frontiers of a collective market development effort, CGAP continuously and purposefully influenced,…
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    Microfinance Blog

  • More than Semantics: The Evolution from “Microcredit” to “Financial Inclusion”

    Tilman Ehrbeck
    16 May 2012 | 12:18 pm
    Over the past 15 years, the field that CGAP aspires to advance has broadened from the initial focus on microcredit to microfinance, to access-to-finance, and most recently financial inclusion.  This evolution happened for good reasons as practitioners, donors, academics, and policymakers learned more about the financial needs of poor families in the informal economy, and success and scale in the early endeavors resulted in important learning and new frontiers.  As a public good at these frontiers of a collective market development effort, CGAP continuously and purposefully influenced,…

  • Can the Microfinance Sector Help Deliver Clean Energy?

    Chris Neidl
    14 May 2012 | 7:35 am
    A Negros Women For Tomorrow (NWTF) business development officer demonstrates the features of a solar portable lighting device during a group meeting in Palawan, the Philippines. Offering financial products that enable poor clients to purchase clean, low-carbon alternatives to kerosene, firewood and other conventional fuels is perhaps the most direct way in which microfinance can be mobilized to combat climate change and preserve ecological resources. Of course, from the perspective of a client who lacks access to modern energy, the appeal of alternatives like small-scale solar charging…

  • Exorbitant Interest Rates in Russia: A Response from the Russian Microfinance Industry

    Mikhail Mamuta
    11 May 2012 | 5:04 pm
    The exorbitant interest rates offered by so-called  “microlending” companies (who look much more like payday lenders or garden variety loan sharks) to clients of the Russian Post  recently gave rise to a wave of indignation on the part of the public, government, mass media and the responsible microfinance industry.  Microlending has existed in Russia for 15 years but it was not until 2011 that special legislation came into force, providing for a clearer legal status of microlending MFIs. These institutions play an important role in the country, serving people who do not have access to…

  • The Global Findex: Filling a Major Gap in the Data Landscape

    Jake Kendall
    9 May 2012 | 6:17 pm
    When President Calderón of Mexico announced the creation of a National Council for Financial Inclusion, one of the first tasks he assigned was to ensure all financial data included statistics on financial inclusion: “I would also like to urge the Minister of Treasury, in his capacity as Minister and as member of such Council, not to wait two or three years to conduct the financial inclusion surveys. … Every time the Minister receives financial information related to the country, there must be some financial inclusion data in it.” We believe both policy making and private sector…

  • India’s Microfinance Industry: An Anatomy of Risk ©April 2012

    Sanjay Sinha
    6 May 2012 | 7:48 pm
    With around 20 million borrower accounts estimated for March 2012, India still has one of the largest microfinance industries in the world – even though the number is much lower than 32 million in October 2010 when the microfinance crisis began.  However, in March 2012 it also had the dubious distinction of having perhaps the worst portfolio quality in the world (at the national level).  Since October 2010 commercial bank lending to MFIs, which made up over 70% of their funding, has been consistently drying up mainly because of perceived political risk.   Over the past 18 months since…
 
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    Microfinance a Working Solution to Global Poverty

  • What We’re Reading: “Tapping into the Potential of the Unbanked in the DRC”

    Kadita Tshibaka
    16 May 2012 | 12:11 pm
    This post, “Tapping into the Potential of the Unbanked in the DRC,” was originally published Wednesday morning on ACCION International‘s Center for Financial Inclusion Blog, written by Kadita Tshibaka, a member of Opportunity‘s Board of Directors. Kadita was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and spent 33 years working around the world in Citibank‘s Operations, Credit/Risk, Financial Institutions, Treasury, Corporate Banking, and Country Management, culminating in his role as head of corporate credit risk for Emerging Markets, overseeing…

  • Happy Mother’s Day! Meet Mother & Kenyan Staff Member Betty Mutua

    Opportunity International
    12 May 2012 | 10:55 am
    Betty Mutua, Regional Relationship Officer at Opportunity Kenya and a mother of two, visited the U.S. last month and spoke to us about the challenges and triumphs of being a mom while working full-time and going to school. We were so inspired by the grace with which Betty handles the universal challenges of being a working mother and finding time for her children (Hint: they sit down to do their homework together!), that we wanted to share the conversation with you. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers from Opportunity International‘s global family! Betty Mutua from Opportunity…

  • Taking the Live Below the Line Challenge: Actress Malin Akerman, Young Ambassadors, Governors & Staff

    Opportunity International
    11 May 2012 | 7:21 am
    All this week, May 7-11, Opportunity supporters around the country, including members of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) and Board of Governors, and our own staff took part in the Global Poverty Project’s Live Below the Line challenge to eat and drink for only $1.50 a day. They’re raising awareness for the 1.4 billion people who have to not only eat, but cover all their expenses, on an average daily income of $1.50, and these supporters are taking the challenge in support of Opportunity International’s life-changing work. Get to know a a few of these individuals,…

  • Three Rwandan Mothers I Met on the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) Insight Trip

    Robin Ussery
    10 May 2012 | 9:13 pm
    I recently returned from a week-long Insight Trip to Rwanda with a group of Women\’s Opportunity Network (WON) supporters from the U.K. and the U.S. We traveled in Kigali and to rural villages, visiting with clients and local staff, attending Trust Group meetings, and getting to know how Opportunity’s Rwandan clients live and work. Now that we’re just three days out from Mother’s Day in the U.S., my thoughts turn to the women clients and mothers we met. Talking to them reminds me that moms everywhere are basically the same: we all want the chance to make a better…

  • Technology & New Innovations at Chicago Microfinance Conference

    Emily Riemer
    10 May 2012 | 9:55 am
    At Friday’s Chicago Booth and Zell Center Microfinance Conference, several of my colleagues and members of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity heard from Opportunity International‘s SVP of International Business Development, Dennis Ripley, who spoke as part of a panel called “New Products and Innovations in Microfinance,” along with Kate Cochran, COO at Vittana; Karl Muth, Consulting Economist at Grameen; and moderator Nina Diamond 0f DePaul University’s Richard H. Driehaus College of Business. (Jennifer Tescher, President and CEO of the Center for Financial…
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    CGAP Technology Blog

  • Is a third-party provider the key to unlocking the potential of Mobile Money in Papua New Guinea?

    Joep Roest
    15 May 2012 | 5:48 am
    Joep Roest is a Financial Inclusion Specialist with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP). PFIP is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It is a joint project of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has received additional funding support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the European Union. The programme is based at the UNDP Pacific Centre in Suva Fiji.   Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country so complex it defies easy…

  • What is the Telecom Regulator’s Role in Fostering Mobile Money?

    Ignacio Mas
    8 May 2012 | 8:35 am
    This is a guest blog by Ignacio Mas, an independent consultant who has written extensively on mobile money.  He is former Senior Advisor with the Financial Services for the Poor team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and at the Technology and Business Model Innovation Program at CGAP.  Mobile money feels right for mobile network operators (MNOs): it is an extension of the basic prepaid platform and distribution networks they already operate. Mobile money does require greater surveillance against fraud and money laundering measures, but it’s all fundamentally about secure…

  • Can MTOs and Hub Providers Accelerate the Adoption of Mobile Enabled International Remittances?

    Camilo Tellez
    3 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    This is the fifth and final post in our series on remittances and branchless banking.  You can read the first four posts here.  So far, we have highlighted the emerging success factors and challenges featured in our 2012 landscaping exercise.  Paolo Baltao from Globe’s GCASH shared with us the lessons learned over a period of eight years during which time he led one of the first services to link remittances to a mobile wallet.   Subsequently, Stefan Staschen explored the untapped opportunities in leveraging the large flows of remittances between Russia and Tajikistan by linking them…

  • ARPU going low: the role of financial services in Latin America

    Pablo Garcia Arabehety
    1 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    Pablo García Arabéhéty is an independent consultant who focuses on business model innovation in the mobile and environmental industries.  He has previously worked at the Organization of American States and the Innovation Lab at the Inter-American Development Bank. Last December, Starbucks announced that during 2011 it processed 26 million transactions in the US through its mobile payment application. While this news was anecdotal for traditional financial service providers such as banks and credit card companies, it showed mobile network operators (MNOs) the speed with which they can be…

  • How perception and trust shape the adoption of branchless banking

    Camilo Tellez
    24 Apr 2012 | 5:00 am
    Photo Taken by Adam Jones In a meeting last week with some colleagues from a branchless banking provider in Africa, we came across data that indicated that one particular provider (a competitor) was capturing a large portion of the payments market. The response around the table was clear, “Oh, that’s because this player is seen to be close to the people.”  The perception of this provider’s role in the market had given it a significant edge. We can all think of specific examples of how perception influences behavior in our own markets. Some banks are seen to focus just on the…
 
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    MicroCapital

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEEP Network, Citigroup Foundation Launch Planning Stage of Global Savings Campaign

    Brett Cohen
    16 May 2012 | 9:35 am
    The Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, an association of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) headquartered in Washington DC, is launching the planning phase of its Global Savings Campaign. In conjunction with Citigroup Foundation, the charitable branch of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, the initiative aims to provide widespread access to savings services as well as reducing transaction costs for MFIs. The planning stage, which is expected to last one year, includes identifying existing knowledge gaps in the field,…

  • MICROFINANCE EVENT: Convergences 2015 Presents Fifth Annual “World Forum for the Millennium Development Goals”, September 19 – 21, 2012, Paris, France

    Courtney Snelling
    16 May 2012 | 2:43 am
    Event Name: World Forum for the Millennium Development Goals Event Date: September 19 – September 21, 2012 Event Location: Palais Brongniart and Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Paris, France See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Cost: Corporate attendees may register to attend the forum for EUR 300 (USD 386) per person or EUR 1,000 (USD 1,287) for an unlimited number of participants from the same organization. Nonprofit attendees may register for EUR 100 (USD 129) per person or EUR 300 (USD 386) for an unlimited number of participants from…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wincor Nixdorf Deploys Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Bangladesh

    Charlotte Newman
    16 May 2012 | 12:01 am
    Wincor Nixdorf, a Germany-based information technology (IT) provider reportedly has announced it is supplying banks in Bangladesh with automated teller machine (ATM) technology in an effort to increase access to financial services via the self-service channel. According to the company, approximately 330 ATMs have been installed with the help of Wincor Nixdorf’s partner IT Consultants Limited. A total of 500 are expected to be put in place by October 2012. Wincor Nixdorf’s ProCash 280 ATMs, the models that are being deployed in Bangladesh, have embedded portrait and cash slot cameras to…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Union Cabinet of India to Present Microfinance Bill to Parliament

    Brendan Millan
    15 May 2012 | 12:34 pm
    The Union Cabinet of India, a decision-making body of the executive branch of the government of India, reportedly has approved a bill proposing that all microfinance institutions (MFIs) register with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and maintain a minimum of funds equal to INR 5 lakh (USD 9,270). The bill also proposes a microfinance council that would advise the government on policies for the industry. The bill was drafted in response to the downturn in the microfinance sector that began in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010. The next step for the bill is that it will be presented to…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroScore From MicroNed Measures Success of Microfinance Institution Capacity Building Programmes

    Brett Cohen
    15 May 2012 | 8:46 am
    MicroNed, a network of Dutch organizations involved in microfinance, has introduced MicroScore, a tool intended to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) and cooperatives assess themselves before, during, and after conducting capacity building programmes. MicroScore measures the following four performance ratios: governance, institutional, financial performance management, and services and social performance management. Joost de La Rive Box, a Dutch microfinance consultant specializing in impact study and financial projection models, developed the tool in conjunction with MicroNed. MicroNed…
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    Center for Financial Inclusion Blog

  • Tapping into the Potential of the Unbanked in the DRC

    Center for Financial Inclusion
    16 May 2012 | 8:49 am
    > Posted by Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, Board of Directors, Opportunity International The World Bank and Gallup Poll’s “Global Findex” has only been out for a couple weeks now, and already I am seeing its use for my own work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the 1970s, I was privileged to be part of the team that launched Citibank in my country, the DRC, an experience that was to become useful for another start-up in the Cote d’Ivoire and later, decades later, in Eastern Europe. My career in banking started in operations where cash and tellers were part of my…

  • A Call for Caution in Judging the Merits of Financial Education: A Review of ‘Bridging the Gap’

    Center for Financial Inclusion
    15 May 2012 | 8:23 am
    > Posted by Chris Dunford, Senior Research Fellow, Freedom From Hunger Bridging the Gapis a most welcome and ambitious review of the state of financial education. Its authors, Anamitra Deb and Mike Kubzansky of the Monitor Group, were commissioned and funded by the Citi Foundation. There is much real value to this work, and I will point out the important contributions the report makes. I will also point out serious concerns about some of the points made and how they may distort the experience to date and the promise of financial education. Please read it for yourself rather than depend on…

  • The New Client Education Resource Library: Tools for the Microfinance Industry

    Center for Financial Inclusion
    14 May 2012 | 9:32 am
    > Posted by Laura Galindo Within the microfinance industry we are very fortunate to have so many great resources at our disposal. The challenge for practitioners however, lies in how to effectively deliver the content to clients. In 2011, the Smart Campaign’s Steering Committee launched a new Client Voice Task Force – whose members represent diverse stakeholder groups throughout the microfinance industry- to bring the voice of the client more squarely into the Campaign. One of the initiatives the task force identified as helpful to the microfinance industry was the development of a…

  • The Pathway towards Full Financial Inclusion

    Center for Financial Inclusion
    11 May 2012 | 8:12 am
    > Posted by Center Staff The May edition of ‘Inclusions’ offers insight into the Center for Financial Inclusion’s Financial Inclusion 2020 project and discusses the way in which the Center is working to build a movement towards global full financial inclusion. The newsletter also provides program updates for FI2020 and the Smart Campaign.  The newsletter begins: How do you bring appropriate financial services to the world’s more than 2 billion currently un-served individuals, especially the hard-to-reach? This question is exactly what the Center for Financial Inclusion…

  • What’s a Microfinance Institution Worth? The Latest News on Valuations

    Center for Financial Inclusion
    10 May 2012 | 7:32 am
    > Posted by Danielle Donza For publically traded retail banks, valuations are at historic lows. In the microfinance industry, 2011 also saw the continued compression of valuation multiples from 2009 highs, according to the recently released Global Microfinance Equity Valuation Survey, Volume Growth and Valuation Contraction. CGAP and J.P. Morgan, with support from the Council of Microfinance Equity Funds (CMEF), publish this report annually to address the scarcity of valuation data available in the public domain. Including valuation data for both MFI private equity (PE) transactions as…
 
 
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    Creating a World Without Poverty

  • Panel Explores the Power of the Mobile Phone in Fighting Poverty

    grameenfoundation
    14 May 2012 | 3:36 pm
    Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World. I first met Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of the Civil Society, Markets and Democracy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, through one of our greatest Grameen Foundation Board members, Lucy Billingsley.  When Isobel and I were introduced to each other, she was running a small program at the Council focused on women’s issues.  She has…

  • Can trust and reciprocity within social networks play a role in rural financial systems?

    grameenfoundation
    2 May 2012 | 8:43 am
    Julius Matovu is the Research and Program Coordinator for Grameen Foundation’s AppLab Money Incubator. Let me introduce two interesting petty traders based in Owino market – the busiest market in downtown Kampala. They are Akim, a secondhand-shoes trader, and Patrick, a secondhand-clothes dealer. Last weekend I visited this market for a variety of reasons – including buying some “new” secondhand clothes to revamp my wardrobe. As I wandered through the market I came across these two different petty traders; because each of these individuals had something that I may need at some…

  • The Power of Microbusiness

    grameenfoundation
    30 Apr 2012 | 4:11 pm
    Shannon Maynard is the Director of Grameen Foundation’s skilled volunteer program, Bankers without Borders. Maynard has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit management and volunteer mobilization. Before joining Grameen Foundation, she served as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, and managed strategic initiatives for federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service. One of the books that has been on my reading list for a while but I haven’t gotten to yet is The Coming Jobs War, by Gallup CEO Jim Clifton.  As a busy…

  • A Real Education

    grameenfoundation
    26 Apr 2012 | 3:20 pm
    Julia Arnold is a program associate for Grameen Foundation’s microsavings initiative, and will graduate from American University in May with a master’s degree in international development. As a graduate student at American University and a Grameen Foundation employee, I have studied international development in the classroom and have seen it in practice through my work with Grameen Foundation’s microsavings initiative in India, Ethiopia and the Philippines, and our livelihoods work in India. This unique vantage point has given me many opportunities to reflect on the relationship between…

  • A 21st Century Trifecta: Two Months at Grameen Foundation

    grameenfoundation
    25 Apr 2012 | 3:50 pm
    Matt Inbusch worked as an intern for Grameen Foundation’s Marketing and Communications team during the spring of 2012. What a moment to come back from the field! After three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Peru, I briefly returned to my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, over the Christmas holiday, and then – probably a little too soon for my mother’s liking – bought a one-way ticket to Washington. I was fortunate to be offered an internship at Grameen Foundation’s headquarters, and jumped right into the day-to-day work of what I believe is one of the most innovative development…
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    MyKro.org

  • Wokai Shutting the Doors

    Drew Meyers
    2 May 2012 | 8:36 am
    Below is the full text of the email that Wokai sent out today (also is currently on their home page): Dear Wokai Contributors, We regret to tell you that we are starting the process of winding down Wokai and concluding operations. Wokai has been actively searching for a new CEO to take the organization to the next level in China. However, as of our application deadline, no clear candidate came to the fore. In addition, we have met unexpected funding road blocks, which have left us without the reserves necessary to extend the search further. Considering Wokai’s current situation, our…

  • Microfinance Helps Haiti Earthquake Victims Recover

    Jerry Ostradicky
    19 Apr 2012 | 10:00 am
    Here’s a cool video from Fonkoze, a Haitian MFI, that discusses how it has helped people recover from poverty following the 2010 earthquake:

  • Microfinance Job: Development Associate – Trickle Up (US)

    Jerry Ostradicky
    14 Apr 2012 | 10:00 am
    About the Organization: Trickle Up empowers people living on less than $1.25 a day to take the first steps out of poverty, providing them with resources to build sustainable livelihoods for a better quality of life. In partnership with local agencies, Trickle Up provides training and seed capital grants to launch or expand a microenterprise and savings support to build assets. About the Job: Trickle Up is looking for a Development Associate – Institutional Partnerships. S/he will assist with the execution of institutional fundraising and partnership development with a focus on…

  • Into Poverty Official Trailer

    Jerry Ostradicky
    13 Apr 2012 | 4:27 pm
    Into Poverty: Living On One Dollar, a documentary by MFI Connect co-founders Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci about their experience living on one dollar a day in Guatemala. The film follows their journey as they learn about microfinance first hand through research and by taking out a loan themselves. Here’s the official trailer:

  • Microfinance Jobs: Director of Development, Microfinance – Professionals for Nonprofits (Washington, DC)

    Jerry Ostradicky
    30 Mar 2012 | 4:52 pm
    Description & Details PROFESSIONALS for NONPROFITS (PNP) is pleased to notify you of a new search we are conducting in your area of expertise. If you think this opportunity may interest a qualified colleague, please forward this email. If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please send a resume to jgross@nonprofitstaffing.com or register at www.nonprofitstaffing.com and apply to job number 8176. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Due to the high volume of responses, we will not be able to reply to all applicants, but all resumes will be reviewed. Also, please read the entire broadcast…
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    NewAmerica.net Blog Posts

  • Towards a New Model for International Research Collaboration: Reflections on the April YouthSave Research Advisory Council Convening and Symposium

    16 May 2012 | 12:03 pm
    By Julia Stevens and Li Zou, Center for Social DevelopmentCross posted on YouthSave.orgOn April 17, 2012, a Symposium on International Research and Innovation at Washington University in St. Louis highlighted the experiences and insights of the international research partners in YouthSave. The event, which was hosted by the Center for Social Development at Washington University’s Brown School, drew an engaged audience of students, researchers, and program representatives with interests in international research and collaboration.The first panel, “Building International Research…

  • A Better Way to Make College More Affordable

    14 May 2012 | 1:10 pm
    This blog post was originaly published on the National Community Tax Coalition's blog WorkForward. The wrangling over the jump in student loan rates scheduled to take place on July 1st has placed renewed focus on making college affordable. This is critical time to be having this conversation because the value of a college degree is only increasing in the post-recession economy, but, so is the cost of acquiring it.In 2010, for example, 88 percent of recent college graduates with a college degree were employed and, on average, earning $581 a week compared to only 64 percent of their peers with…

  • Event with Louis Hyman, Author of "Borrow: The American Way of Debt"

    14 May 2012 | 11:21 am
    The Asset Building Program is hosting author Louis Hyman for an event on this Thursday, May 17th to discuss his new book Borrow: The American Way of Debt. Janis Bowdler from National Council of La Raza’s Wealth-Building Policy Project will respond and offer her take on the role debt has played in the economy and consumers’ lives. You can join us in person next Thursday or watch live online.Louis Hyman, a professor of history of Cornell University, has written extensively on the history of U.S. capitalism, the rise of consumer debt, and the democratization of access to credit for average…

  • Savings Song Launches YouthSave's Financial Education Workshops in Colombia

    11 May 2012 | 2:49 pm
    By Alejandra Montes Saenz, Save the Children ColombiaCross-posted on YouthSave.orgAs part of the overall Financial Capability strategy for Colombia, Save the Children has conducted several launch events in the same schools where the implementation of the financial capability workshops will take place. The overall goal of these events is to gather the students, teachers and school staff and encourage them to start thinking about the importance of saving as a mechanism for young people to achieve their goals and dreams. We used ‘edutainment’ strategies—different forms of entertainment to…

  • Asset Building News Week, May 7-11

    11 May 2012 | 9:28 am
    The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include the Millennial generation, homelessness, economic mobility, public benefits, and banking innovation. The Millennial GenerationMillennials (born between 1981 and 2000) are making headlines regularly as they navigate young adulthood in the midst of a struggling economy. New data show that just half of college grads who graduated between 2006 and 2011 are working full time. As…
 
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    MicroCapital

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEEP Network, Citigroup Foundation Launch Planning Stage of Global Savings Campaign

    Brett Cohen
    16 May 2012 | 9:35 am
    The Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, an association of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) headquartered in Washington DC, is launching the planning phase of its Global Savings Campaign. In conjunction with Citigroup Foundation, the charitable branch of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, the initiative aims to provide widespread access to savings services as well as reducing transaction costs for MFIs. The planning stage, which is expected to last one year, includes identifying existing knowledge gaps in the field,…

  • MICROFINANCE EVENT: Convergences 2015 Presents Fifth Annual “World Forum for the Millennium Development Goals”, September 19 – 21, 2012, Paris, France

    Courtney Snelling
    16 May 2012 | 2:43 am
    Event Name: World Forum for the Millennium Development Goals Event Date: September 19 – September 21, 2012 Event Location: Palais Brongniart and Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Paris, France See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events Cost: Corporate attendees may register to attend the forum for EUR 300 (USD 386) per person or EUR 1,000 (USD 1,287) for an unlimited number of participants from the same organization. Nonprofit attendees may register for EUR 100 (USD 129) per person or EUR 300 (USD 386) for an unlimited number of participants from…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wincor Nixdorf Deploys Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Bangladesh

    Charlotte Newman
    16 May 2012 | 12:01 am
    Wincor Nixdorf, a Germany-based information technology (IT) provider reportedly has announced it is supplying banks in Bangladesh with automated teller machine (ATM) technology in an effort to increase access to financial services via the self-service channel. According to the company, approximately 330 ATMs have been installed with the help of Wincor Nixdorf’s partner IT Consultants Limited. A total of 500 are expected to be put in place by October 2012. Wincor Nixdorf’s ProCash 280 ATMs, the models that are being deployed in Bangladesh, have embedded portrait and cash slot cameras to…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Union Cabinet of India to Present Microfinance Bill to Parliament

    Brendan Millan
    15 May 2012 | 12:34 pm
    The Union Cabinet of India, a decision-making body of the executive branch of the government of India, reportedly has approved a bill proposing that all microfinance institutions (MFIs) register with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and maintain a minimum of funds equal to INR 5 lakh (USD 9,270). The bill also proposes a microfinance council that would advise the government on policies for the industry. The bill was drafted in response to the downturn in the microfinance sector that began in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 2010. The next step for the bill is that it will be presented to…

  • MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroScore From MicroNed Measures Success of Microfinance Institution Capacity Building Programmes

    Brett Cohen
    15 May 2012 | 8:46 am
    MicroNed, a network of Dutch organizations involved in microfinance, has introduced MicroScore, a tool intended to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) and cooperatives assess themselves before, during, and after conducting capacity building programmes. MicroScore measures the following four performance ratios: governance, institutional, financial performance management, and services and social performance management. Joost de La Rive Box, a Dutch microfinance consultant specializing in impact study and financial projection models, developed the tool in conjunction with MicroNed. MicroNed…
 
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    Kiva Loans

  • Las Topacios Group : Chile

    16 May 2012 | 2:30 pm
    $250 of $4,125 raised. Started raising funds on May 16, 2012 This Communal Bank is called "Las Topacios" and consists of 17 entrepreneurs who engage in different trades. These include making handicrafts, exhibiting products at the fairs, selling food, performing manual jobs, providing services, and other business activities. All of the members are from the city of Valdivia. Andrea, the president of the Communal Bank, is seen in the photo standing in the first position from left to right. She is wearing a blue-colored jacket and has her hair taken back. Andrea is in the craft trade,…

  • Hilda Antonieta : Ecuador

    16 May 2012 | 12:40 pm
    $525 of $1,100 raised. Started raising funds on May 16, 2012 The communal bank "Damas del Futuro" meets every 15 days in the Pajan Canton, which is known for its livestock farming. One of the attractions is the Montubio Rodeo organized throughout the year. This is where we met Mrs. Hilda, 39, who is married and has three children, ages 15, 12 and 6. The two elder children are in junior high school and the youngest in grade school. Her husband works for the State as a contractor. In an effort to earn a little of her own income to help cover household expenses, our friend has a food business…

  • Josué : Mexico

    16 May 2012 | 9:40 am
    $475 of $525 raised. Started raising funds on May 16, 2012 Josué lives on a small farm with his wife and son, and the animal waste from his cows and horses will be treated by his Sistema Biobolsa biodigester to produce renewable energy and organic fertilizer. The energy-rich biogas will be used in the kitchen for cooking and heating bathwater, nearly eliminating their LP gas usage. The organic fertilizer will be used in his orchard where he grows apples, plums, and a local fruit called tejocote often used to make punch. He also grows nopal cactus year-round. Josué is excited by this…

  • Chance Group : The Democratic Republic of the Congo

    16 May 2012 | 6:10 am
    $3,500 of $4,100 raised. Started raising funds on May 16, 2012 Nabashali, the leader of the Chance business group, is a dynamic entrepreneur who is 38 years old and the mother of 8 young children. She sells plastic shoes known as “bodaboda”. Her husband is a public administration official at the town hall in Goma. Nabashali sells her products at a market. She started her business with her own money when she sold an item of jewellery for $250. For six years now she has been running small business activities of this type. This is her seventh loan cycle with Hekima. This new loan will be…

  • Roza : Kyrgyzstan

    16 May 2012 | 12:10 am
    $1,450 of $2,900 raised. Started raising funds on May 15, 2012 Roza is 59 years old. She is a widow and has two children. For the past twenty years, she has been involved in farming and animal husbandry, a business she got into with an initial amount of 10,000 som (KGS). Thanks to her hard work, her business now comprises two dairy cows and seven sheep, and she makes 3,500 som per month selling milk and dairy products. In order to further develop her business, Roza has turned to Bai Tushum & Partners for a loan of 135,000 (KGS) which will be used to purchase young bulls to be fattened up and…
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    Banking With The Poor Network: The Official Blog

  • Lanka ORIX Finance Expands Worker Remittance Solutions

    admin
    25 Apr 2012 | 9:38 pm
    Lump Sum Payment for Loss of Employment for Migrant Workers Lanka ORIX Finance PLC has announced the expansion of its Worker Remittance business when it entered into a landmark partnership with a prominent global money transfer brand – Valutrans SPA. Lanka ORIX Finance has been providing convenient, secure and affordable money transfer channels to Migrant Workers in the Middle East and Europe, through Xpress Money and Money Exchange S.A. – Spain, respectively. The new strategic alliance with Valutrans SPA will enable Sri Lankan Migrant Workers in Italy to access Lanka ORIX Finance’s…

  • VisionFund Cambodia bestowed the Platinum Award 2011 by MIX

    admin
    1 Apr 2012 | 1:37 am
    VisionFund Cambodia has recently received the Platinum Award 2011 from MIX (Microfinance Information eXchange), which is a US-based non-profit organization with the mission to strengthen microfinance sector and financial inclusion by promoting transparency. The Platinum Award was introduced in 2011, and it is the highest level of the award from MIX. With prominent track record, VisionFund Cambodia received Silver Award in 2009, Gold Award in 2010 and Platinum Award in 2011, from MIX. That all means VisionFund Cambodia is truly committed to transparent Social Performance Monitoring and…

  • ASKI, WTRC to open a community social enterprise

    admin
    1 Apr 2012 | 1:31 am
    by Marizol Padilla NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines- The Alalay Sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI), a non-government organization based in Cabanatuan City and the Wholistic Transformation Resource Center (WTRC), a non-stock, non-profit Christian foundation will soon open a collaborative social enterprise dubbed as ASKI Waterhope. The ASKI Waterhope project in Barangay Lourdes, Cabanatuan City is a water refilling station project being offered by WTRC in support to the objective of making potable water accessible to poor communities. ASKI considers the establishment of a water refilling station that will offer…

  • Buksh Foundation launched Clean Energy movement in Pakistan

    admin
    1 Apr 2012 | 1:23 am
    Buksh Foundation started 2012 with a commitment to launch the Clean Energy movement in Pakistan in order to provide access to alternate sustainable energy to the rural and urban poor and sustain small enterprises by offering cheaper, viable energy solutions. Several community events have been scheduled in the communities we work in, in order to engage with the local residents, and increase awareness about the clean energy products Buksh Foundation is offering for enhanced productivity as well as socio-economic uplift. We are hosting street demos from rural agricultural areas like Kasur and…

  • SANASA Development Bank teams up with Microsoft

    admin
    22 Mar 2012 | 3:44 am
    March 21, 2012: Sri Lanka’s SANASA Development Bank, a pioneer in microfinance has entered into an enterprise agreement with Microsoft to bring global standards to its Information Technology operations. The agreement, in partnership with Millennium ESP, the enterprise and service provider business of Millennium IT, and a Microsoft managed partner will equip SANASA with innovative IT tools and technologies that will help them optimize their IT setup and secure a lasting advantage in the ever competitive finance and banking sector. SANASA works for improving the standard of living of low…
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    David Roodman's Microfinance Open Book Blog

  • Eminence & Evidence

    David Roodman
    16 May 2012 | 1:15 pm
    By David Roodman - A couple more reviews of my book appeared in the digital ether this week. One is on the blog of MYC4, which is a European peer-to-peer lending site that typically does loans larger than Kiva. I think it’s thoughtful and fair. The other is on the site of the Whole Planet Foundation (you have to dig a bit on this page). The Whole Planet Foundation’s mission is “poverty alleviation through microcredit in communities worldwide that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products.” I gather that when you check out at Whole Foods you can donate your change…

  • Welcome Coverage, but Not Quite Scrutiny, of KGFS

    David Roodman
    14 May 2012 | 5:58 pm
    By David Roodman - Back in 2009, my colleague Liliana Rojas-Suarez convened a meeting at CGD of a task force that would draft Policy Principles for Expanding Financial Access. Attendees included Jonathan Morduch of NYU; and Nachiket Mor of the IFMR Trust, who brought along Bindu Ananth. During a break, Bindu started to tell me about the IFMR Trust’s radical new approach to bringing financial services to poor Indians, called Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS), which means “Regional Rural Financial Services.” I was just finding my way as a blogger, so when Jonathan…

  • Yunus-Bashing Escalates

    David Roodman
    11 May 2012 | 1:15 pm
    By David Roodman - Hillary Clinton passed through Bangladesh last weekend and publicly expressed her strong support for Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. “I don’t want anything that would in any way undermine what has been a tremendous model.” She also visited Yunus, whom she has known since 1986. The powers in Bangladesh did not appreciate Hillary’s contribution. Two top officials has gone after Clinton and Yunus, equally publicly. The rather less-famous finance minister who helped Yunus found the Grameen Bank, opined: “I think this comment is very…

  • Weekly Tweets for 2012-05-11

    David Roodman
    11 May 2012 | 12:00 pm
    By David Roodman - New @CGAP video and report on @IFMRTrust's KGFS business, which is thriving despite being impossible http://t.co/I8HdUtVT #microfinance # Africa’s Child Health Miracle: The Biggest, Best Story in Development by @m_clem http://t.co/kbr5yFN2 via @CGDev # An account of the U of Chicago conference I spoke at on Friday http://t.co/4iTwWJ8t #microfinance # SKS will move its headquarters out of the state whose government clobbered it http://t.co/A1or4XGU #microfinance #

  • Ripost to Rupert

    David Roodman
    8 May 2012 | 3:56 pm
    By David Roodman - Rupert Scofield has replied to my retort to his review, etc. Clearly neither of us has swayed the other much, but I appreciate the friendliness and honesty, not to mention vividness, of his latest post. He has conceded to me the argument over what the economic studies say. So his main thesis now is: I think David, in his faith in the power of numbers, has strayed too far from the path of Common Sense. Example: If, as David concludes, there is value to be found in the creation of an industry that has corrected—for many millions of people—the “market failure”…
 
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    The Big Picture

  • Facebook Stock Certificate Facebook

    Barry Ritholtz
    16 May 2012 | 1:30 pm
    Click to enlarge: Source: DC Entertainment Hat tip contrabandista

  • FOMC get together

    Peter Boockvar
    16 May 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Because not much change occurred in the economy between the March and April FOMC meetings, there was not much new in the minutes from the April get together and why the April written statement wasn’t much different than in March. With respect to doing more, “several members indicated that additional monetary policy accommodation could be necessary if the economy recovery lost momentum or the downside risks to the forecast became great enough.” While non voting members attend the meeting, 8 of the 10 voting members are big time doves so this comment shouldn’t be a…

  • Factors Institutional Investors Are Favoring

    Anna W
    16 May 2012 | 10:30 am
    Every year since 1989, Merrill Lynch surveys a few 100 institutional investors using a broad variety of quantitative, valuation, process and modeling questions. Their responses get summarized in a 39 chart, 27 page report. You can get a sense of the depth and breadth of the report in just a few charts — but overall, the results are quite thought provoking. A few examples:   Click to enlarge:     Whether you manage money using quantitative or macro methods, I suggest you gives this report a read.   Source: Annual Institutional Factor Survey #21 Results are in:…

  • The Great Moderation, Forecast Uncertainty, and the Great Recession

    Guest Author
    16 May 2012 | 9:30 am
    The Great Recession of 2007-09 was a dramatic macroeconomic event, marked by a severe contraction in economic activity and a significant fall in inflation. These developments surprised many economists, as documented in a recent post on this site. One factor cited for the failure to anticipate the magnitude of the Great Recession was a form of complacency affecting forecasters in the wake of the so-called Great Moderation. In this post, we attempt to quantify the role the Great Moderation played in making the Great Recession appear nearly impossible in the eyes of macroeconomists. In the…

  • 10 Mid-Week AM Reads

    Barry Ritholtz
    16 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    My early morning reads: • 7 Reasons I Don’t Mind Sitting in Cash (Joe Fahmy) • The hedge funds that are profiting off JPMorgan’s bad trade (CNN Fortune) see also As One JPMorgan Trader Sold Risky Contracts, Another (WTF?!?) One Bought Them (DealBook) • Currency Markets Rev Up (WSJ) • Hitchhiker’s Guide To The ETF Galaxy (ETF Database) • Fun! Greek Exit Caption Contest ! (Alphaville.com) • OPEC, China and an Airline: Unlikely Allies for U.S. Drivers (WSJ) • 5 Ways Process Is Killing Your Productivity (Fast Company) • Let The Honeymoon Begin: Romney’s Poll Numbers…
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    Finance Trends Matter

  • Cliff Asness of AQR: Bubble Logic

    24 Apr 2012 | 7:25 am
    I'm reading a passage from Scott Patterson's book, The Quants, that looks back on the .com bubble. Let me share a few brief quotes from this section with you here. Backdrop: "A few months before the dot-com IPO frenzy began, LTCM had collapsed. Greenspan and the Fed swept in organizing a bailout. Greenspan also slashed interest rates...the easy money added fuel to the smoldering internet fires...pushing the tech-laden Nasdaq to all-time highs on an almost daily basis." The .com boom proved disastrous for Cliff Asness' hedge fund, AQR, which invested in value stocks while "betting against…

  • Arthur C. Clarke predicts the internet and PCs

    20 Apr 2012 | 7:34 pm
    Arthur C. Clarke forecasts the future of 2001, a time when home computers and interconnectivity with others through technology are commonplace (via Eddie Markets).

  • Bernard Baruch: private speculator & public life

    16 Apr 2012 | 10:23 am
    Bernard Baruch with Winston Churchill (left) and Dwight Eisenhower (right) in 1953 (via loc.gov).

  • Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion.

    9 Apr 2012 | 1:52 pm
    "Just one word. Are you listening? Apps."

  • Early retirement? Cary Grant, Holiday (1938)

    3 Apr 2012 | 8:50 pm
    "It's always been my idea to make a few thousands early in the game, and then quit for as long as they last..." - Cary Grant, Holiday (1938).
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    Smart Mobs

  • Twitter chief meets with US secretary of state

    Gerrit Visser
    28 Apr 2012 | 3:59 pm
    (AFP) – 1 day ago SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter chief Dick Costolo met on Friday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as Internet age technologies play growing roles in world affairs. Pleasure to meet with Secretary Clinton and the @statedept team today,” Costolo said in a “tweet” he fired off at the popular one-to-many text messaging service. San Francisco-based Twitter did not provide details of what Costolo discussed with Clinton during their meeting in Wasington, D.C. Twitter has become a powerful tool for political activists around the world, giving people a way to…

  • How participatory cultures in healthcare are transformational

    Alan
    12 Apr 2012 | 11:21 am
    This article is based upon real world issues with the UK health service (but it an organizational problem many healthcare systems have) and the stories are taken from No Straight Lines: making sense of our non-linear world (open access book and participatory reading) Designing and co-creating the best possible future for the National Health Service The bitter public battle now being fought over the future of the NHS looks set to continue. Its future shape uncertain, and the mounting resistance that is so visceral is based upon fear, uncertainty and crucially a genuine lack of trust in those…

  • Mobile data growth and what it means for us

    Gerrit Visser
    9 Apr 2012 | 8:59 am
    The research team at iStrategyLabs have produced and launched an infographic for Mobile Future that highlights the exponential growth in mobile data traffic — and what this subsequently means for the individual data consumer. The infographic charts the exploding and varied ways mobile devices are now being used to connect: •792 mobile apps are downloaded each second. •29 million mobile users streamed music in 2011. •Video content accounts for 52% of all mobile data traffic. •Facebook hosts 1627 mobile status updates per second. •Twitter boasts 13 million mobile users. •Instagram…

  • Teens, Smartphones & Texting

    Gerrit Visser
    24 Mar 2012 | 9:49 am
    A late Pew Internet study tells us how much and how teens text.… ‘Texting on a cellphone’ examines the tools teens use to communicate, with a particular focus on mobile devices, and then places the use of those tools in the broader context of how teens choose to communicate with people in their lives. Texting volume is up while the frequency of voice calling is down. About one in four teens say they own smartphones. Read the full report by Amanda Lenhart on Pew Internet. Texting is the dominant daily mode of communication between teens and all those with whom they communicate.

  • Digital natives lacking interpersonal skills

    Gerrit Visser
    19 Mar 2012 | 2:37 am
    John K. Mullen started in The HBR Blog Network a series about The New Rules for Getting a Job. Mullen warns digital natives to be aware that the internet may have partially rewired their brain in such a way that when they meet people face to face, they’re less capable of figuring out what others are thinking. Research indicates that because there’s only so much time in the day, face-to-face interaction time drops by nearly 30 minutes for every hour a person spends on a computer. With more time devoted to computers and less to in-person interactions, young people may be…
 
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    ThinkChange India

  • Craftsvilla is Etsy for India, but only better

    Santhosh Ramdoss
    15 May 2012 | 9:11 pm
    The Indian handicrafts sector provides livelihoods to millions of people around the country, especially women. However, linking small-scale rural producers to urban and global markets has been a challenge. Efficiently connecting buyers and seller in the handicrafts and handmade clothing market could have an exponential impact by improving the incomes of the poor and help preserve crafts that are rapidly disappearing. CraftsVilla.com is aiming to do exactly that, using the power of the Internet. This is definitely not a new idea. World of Good was a pioneer in this space and…

  • Aamir Khan the Social Entrepreneur

    Santhosh Ramdoss
    6 May 2012 | 10:19 am
    Aamir Khan’s new TV show, Satyamev Jayate debuted this morning. The show adopts a talk-show like format (think Oprah), but focuses solely on social change issues. The opening hour-long episode was dedicated to building awareness on of female foetecide in India, whereby female foetuses are selectively aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus avoiding the birth of girls. Aamir Khan’s approach to using TV as a social-change tool is strategic and timely. TV access in India is almost universal. It is estimated that 90% of the India’s population has access to TVs, which…

  • MentorEdge May 2012 events in Bangalore and Chennai

    Shital Shah
    6 May 2012 | 8:06 am
    MentorEdge, the initiative of Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad) will be organizing a Mentor Rendezvous in the city of Bangalore on the 12th of May, 2012 and in Chennai on the 19th of May. Mentor Rendezvous is meant to be first hand interactions where we introduce the Mentor and the Mentee and encourage them to carry this relationship forward as per mutual agreement. The intention is to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem across the country, where participants are benefited by the collective pool of intelligence. At this event, the mentees can receive…

  • MentorEdge at CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad offers support to aspiring entrepreneurs

    admin
    5 May 2012 | 9:43 pm
    MentorEdge is a nationwide mentoring program to provide hand-holding, mentoring and networking support to aspiring entrepreneurs and startups. MentorEdge was born out of the need to cater to the needs of a larger ecosystem, and to create a support structure for enterprises which were not being incubated at CIIE. The network is spread across 8 cities [Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore], each city having its set of Evangelists who co-ordinate locally with the mentees. 1. What is the role of MentorEdge? How many mentors are now members? The objective is to…

  • TC-I News Update for 2012-04-30

    admin
    30 Apr 2012 | 5:18 am
    Android Phones in India to Get Free 3G Courtesy Google and Reliance http://t.co/DRZanAsn #
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    IFMR Blog

  • Our view on the new securitisation guidelines

    ifmr
    10 May 2012 | 7:16 am
    By Vineet Sukumar, IFMR Capital The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) just released its new securitisation guidelines for standard assets via a notification. Via these guidelines, the RBI aims to reduce systemic risk through the requirement of a minimum holding period and a minimum retention amount for originators. The RBI has also made an attempt at doing away with the arbitrage opportunity between “assignments” – i.e. a direct sale of assets from one financial institution to another – and securitisations, and in this attempt has created new arbitrage opportunities, this time favouring…

  • The Pursuit of Complete Financial Inclusion: The KGFS Model in India

    ifmr
    8 May 2012 | 12:12 am
    Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) has published a new paper titled “The Pursuit of Complete Financial Inclusion: The KGFS Model in India” which talks about the KGFS model and its three core operating principles which differentiate it: (1) complete coverage of the population in a focused geographic area, (2) customized client wealth management services, and (3) a broad range of products. Bindu Ananth, one of the authors of the report along with Gregory Chen & Stephen Rasmussen of CGAP, was interviewed by CGAP on the KGFS Model. In this below video she discusses the…

  • Funding to the microfinance sector: Review of options

    ifmr
    4 May 2012 | 12:58 am
    This article first appeared in the May edition of Center for Microfinance, IFMR Research‘s Newsletter. By Jayshree Venkatesan, CEO, IFMR Mezzanine and Vineet Sukumar, Head, Treasury and Origination, IFMR Capital The Indian microfinance sector has seen a series of rapid changes in the past decade. The sector grew rapidly in the period 2004-2009, with an average increase in number of clients year-on-year being 91%, while size of portfolio outstanding grew by almost 100% Y-o-Y1. During the same period, one also saw a number of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) being established with a…

  • FICCI Workshop on Strengthening Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

    ifmr
    2 May 2012 | 5:54 am
    By Jayshree Venkatesan, IFMR Mezzanine FICCI had organised a panel discussion followed by a workshop on “Strengthening Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): Good governance and Strategic People Practices” on April 23, 2012 in Mumbai. The objective of the workshop was to examine contemporary debates in governance, with a specific focus on the unique context of Microfinance Institutions. The day-long event began with a key note address by Mr. Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, who spoke about the need for microfinance institutions to focus on ways in which they could handle…

  • ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ Policy in South Africa

    ifmr
    27 Apr 2012 | 6:11 am
    By Darshana Rajendran, IFMR Finance Foundation As part of our series of posts on Consumer Protection, this post looks at the ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ (TCF) initiative which is being implemented in South Africa to ensure stronger market conduct regulation. Issues concerning the fair treatment of customers arise out of the problem of asymmetric information between the financial services providers and the consumers. The ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ programme is a regulatory initiative (first implemented by the FSA in the UK) aimed at helping customers fully understand the features,…
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