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First Housing Microfinance CDO In Works
March, 30 2007
- Housing MicroFinance is preparing the first collateralized debt obligation backed by loans to microfinance institutions to underwrite loans to buy, build or improve homes
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Financial Times Sustainable Banking Awards
March, 27 2007
United States of America - MiBanco from Peru and ACLEDA from Cambodia are Just two of the numerous microfinance institutions entered in the 2007 Financial Times (FT) Sustainable Banking Awards, in association with the International Financial Corporation
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Global fin giants to go micro in India
March, 24 2007
Mumbai - India’s growing microfinance segment may soon see the entry of global financial services giant, Morgan Stanley and the Switzerland-based Blue Orchard Finance
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India: Go Micro For Macro Speed
March, 23 2007
- At a time when the Indian economy is registering the highest growth rates ever, the biggest preoccupation now - and rightly so - is to ensure that we are able to develop a model for sustainable growth. We welcome Professor Joseph Stiglitz in Mumbai. At ET, we're privileged to host this breakfast meeting between you and Nachiket Mor of ICICI Bank
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Uganda: Beads That Lift Women Out of Poverty
March, 18 2007
Uganda - Brilliant specks of colour decorate the garden behind Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, where women sit in clusters around wooden tables. It is sale day and the colours are paper beads the group has made to sell at a considerable profit to the organisation Bead for Life
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Rwanda: Closed MFIs - Garsec Seeks BNR Cash
March, 16 2007
Kigali - Garsec, a local private security firm, has petitioned the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) over Frw190 million that the bank owes the firm. The firm, owned by several retired army officers, is said to have provided guards to protect the now-closed Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), but is yet to be several months after the financial institutions' closure.
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Microcredit Enterprises Signs Deal With Tokyo Star Bank
March, 15 2007
United States - MicroCredit Enterprises, a California based not-for-profit venture that provides philanthropic guarantor-backed microloans to aid third-world poor, announced today a US$4.8 million revolving credit facility has been established with the Tokyo Star Bank, a leading Japanese financial institution. The financing will assist MicroCredit Enterprises in helping the estimated 1.1 billion desperately poor people who survive on less than US$1 a day.
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MicroFinance Network Endorses New Governance Guidelines
March, 15 2007
- The MicroFinance Network (MFN), an international association of 37 leading microfinance institutions (MFIs), today announced that its members have endorsed the policies and recommendations on governance developed by the Council of Microfinance Equity Funds (CMEF)
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Time to take credit
March, 15 2007
- Aid donors have shown microfinance can work. They should now leave their successes behind
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Small loans and big ambitions
March, 15 2007
United Kingdom - Commercialisation is changing microfinance—and stirring debate. Some believe microlenders have no business making money from the poor. In many countries various rules, like interest-rate caps, have been put in place to crimp the industry's growth. This is despite ample evidence that where there is healthy competition in microlending, as in Bosnia and Peru, interest rates tend to drop substantially
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Egypt: Credit Where Credit is Due
March, 15 2007
Egypt - A new credit bureau will allow more consumers access to a range of financial services, with far-reaching implications for the Egyptian econom
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Grameen America Launches with Philliou As CEO
March, 15 2007
United States - Philip J. Philliou has been named CEO of Grameen America, Inc., a for-profit microfinance company that "provides small loans, savings programs, and other services to poor people in the United States.
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Malaysia: Non-banks seen as threat to established banks
March, 14 2007
Petalying Jaya, Malaysia - Non-bank entities that offer easier access to consumer credit, insurance products and other financial services could pose a threat to established financial institutions in the long run, several analysts argue
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Montenegro: Transportation means access to education
March, 13 2007
Montenegro - The days of walking on average eighteen kilometers to and from school are now over for primary school in a municipality in northern Montenegro, thanks to a transportation donated by World Vision microfinance institution AgroInvest.
More than a dozen have averaged this walk to attend their lessons every day in the primary school Vuk Karadzic in Bistrica village
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Community Wireless Training in Nigeria
March, 12 2007
Nigeria - The training of Fantsuam Foundation's Wireless Community Network Team took place the 19 Feb - 5 Mar 2007 in Kafanchan, Nigeria. A two week long training workshop in Wireless Communications was conducted by IT +46 in order to support Fantsuam Foundation in their process of building up a rural wireless ISP in Kafanchan.
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International Finance Corporation progressively assist Sri Lankan private sector
March, 12 2007
Colombo, Sri Lanka - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, reaffirmed its commitment to contributing to Sri Lanka’s economy by working closely with private enterprises across key sectors. Senior IFC officials, from Washington and India visiting Sri Lanka, shared best practices and case studies at a day-long workshop entitled, “Beyond Financing: Creating Opportunities, Empowering Enterprise.”
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India: Nabard may lay down lending rate norms for micro finance
March, 11 2007
New delhi, India - Under fire from government agencies and the Left over micro finance Bill, finance ministry may ask Nabard to lay down interest rates norms, even as officials said the lending rates in India were comparable with those in other countries
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India: Importance of micro-credit in healthcare stressed
March, 11 2007
Bangalore - Medical insurance through micro-credit programmes can help people in rural and remote areas access healthcare facilities, Devi Prasad Shetty, cardiologist and managing director of Narayana Hrudayalaya said here Saturda
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Gambia: Central Bank Governor On Financial Services
March, 10 2007
Gambia - The Governor of the Central Bank, Famara Jatta, has described Government as the only actor that can ensure an enabling environment that promotes competition among a wide range of financial service providers, while also protecting consumers from predatory or fraudulent practices.
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Pakistan: Yunus's advises Musharraf
March, 10 2007
Pakistan - Continuing his quest to encourage & support the importance of poverty alleviation & micro enterprise activities, Mohammad Yunus went to Pakistan this week to discuss such items with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. During discussions, Musharraf requested that Yunus launch a Grameen Bank in Pakistan & sought support and technical advice from Yunus for making their poverty-alleviation movement a success. Yunus said he believed the legislative framework developed in Pakistan for micro-finance credit was a pioneering step and appreciated the progress made by Pakistan in the micro-finance sector
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UBA, Nigeria's n°1 Bank launches 54 Billion Naira hybrid offer
March, 09 2007
Nigeria - The United Bank of Africa, Nigeria`s biggest bank on thursday march 1st,2007 stormed the capital market to raise funds with the launch of its 54 billion naira offer.The offer which is one of the largest in recent years includes a public offer of 1,127,400,000 ordinary shares of 50k each at 35 naira per share and a right issue of 423,600,000 ordinary shares of 50k each at 34naira per share.
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Mozambique has its first micro-credit bank
March, 09 2007
Maputo, Mozmabique - An institution describing itself as “the first national micro-bank” in Mozambique was launched Wednesday in the Moamba district of Maputo province, Mozambican news agency AIM reported
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India: Ex-Citibanker to float NBFC for urban poor
March, 09 2007
India - As someone said, once a banker always a banker. This is turning out to be true in the case of Ramesh Ramanathan, who quit his Citibank job in the US to start a social upliftment organisation, Janaagraha, in Bangalore.
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Microcredit: The Dead End Debate Continues
March, 08 2007
United states - An interesting debate about the efficacy of microfinance has been going on lately, pitting development experts and economists against one another as they seek to understand the impact of microfinance on economic growth and well-being
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British Risk Management Giant Chase Cooper Enters the Microfinance Industry through aCCelerate, its Operational Risk Management Platform, and Peruvian Microfinance Institution MiBanco
March, 08 2007
London, UK - London-based Chase Cooper Ltd, a risk management firm, announced in its press release that MiBanco, Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI), selected aCCelerate as its platform for managing operational risk. aCCerlerate is Chase Cooper’s operational risk management solution, selected in part for Sarbanes-Oxley obligations, according to Jose Delgado, head of risk for MIBANCO. MiBanco hopes that the implementation of this technology will help with expansion into other South American countries.
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India: 'Women's only' world
March, 08 2007
India - Remember that late sixties' movie, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium? Well it's a bit like that with women and microfinance. If it's microfinance, it must be women.
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India: Global finance and Indian IT meet to serve micro credit
March, 08 2007
Bangalore, India - Micro finance, global finance and technology are coming together in a first- of -its-kind venture to cater to the entire IT needs of the micro credit sector. This includes the IT needs of regular financial services operation and also some special ones of the micro finance institutions (MFIs) which serve very poor and often illiterate borrowers
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Reputation and Communication in Microfinance
March, 07 2007
United States - From last week’s readings on microfinance in difficult environments, it struck me that MFIs are not adequately using the power of communication to leverage their work
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India: Plea to redraft micro finance bill
March, 07 2007
New Delhi - Women's groups have asked the Centre to withhold the tabling of the Micro Finance Sector Development and Regulation Bill, 2007 (earlier known as NABARD Bill) slated to be tabled in the current session of Parliament.
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Pakistan`s micro finance sector doing well, says Yunus
March, 06 2007
Pakistan - Bangladesh Nobel Laureate and Managing Director of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh Prof. Muhammad Yunus said that Pakistan has done good work to promote micro finance sector to reduce poverty but the government of Pakistan should ensure access of micro credit to poor in order to achieve the desired results
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Hivos-Triodos loans 650,300 to Sinapi Aba a Ghanaian Microfinance Institution
March, 05 2007
Ghana - Another story coming to us courtesy of the CGAP-MIX Capital Markets Update newsletter. Hivos-Triodos Fund loans USD 650,300 to Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans Ltd, based in Ghana. Sinapi established in 2004 to provide financial services in the form of loans and deposits to micro and small entrepreneurs in order to help increase their income. According to the MIX Market, as of December 31st 2005, Sinapi had a gross loan portfolio of USD 4,766,482 total assets of 8,211,045, a return on assets of -0.45% and a debt to equity ratio of 160.69%.
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Banks see big future in small loans in India
March, 05 2007
Mumbai, India - Microlenders have been helping farmers buy a buffalo and women set up weaving businesses for nearly three decades in India, most successfully in the wealthier southern states
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Foraying into rural India through micro-finance
March, 03 2007
India - Even as rural India tries to grasp the chimerical implications that the 2007-08 budget has for it, banking giant State Bank of India (SBI) has already set out to include the teeming millions in the country's hinterland hitherto left out of the credit loop
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Mauritania: ADF Approves $9 Million for Microfinance Project
March, 02 2007
Mauritania - Mauritania will benefit from the support of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group which, on Friday in Tunis, approved a loan of 5.98 million Units of Account (UC*), equivalent to US$ 8.9 million to finance a capacity building project for microfinance operators (PRECAMF) in the country
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Hivos-Triodos Fund Loans 1.18 million to Pride Tanzania
March, 02 2007
Tanzania - Another story coming to us courtesy of the CGAP-MIX Capital Markets Update newsletter. Hivos-Triodos Fund loans USD 1.18 mm to Pride Tanzania. The investment by Hivos-Triodos Fund hopes to encurage growth in the foundation by providing the means for new loans. Established in 1994, the mission of Pride Tanzania is to create a sustainable financial services network for micro-entrepreneurs in order to stimulate business growth, and alleviate poverty in Tanzania. According to the MIX Market, as of December 31st 2005, Pride Tanzania had a gross loan portfolio of USD 12,738,424 total assets of 13,779,696, a return on assets of 3.79% and a debt to equity ratio of 271.11% . In addition, as of December 31st 2005, Pride Tanzania had active borrowers totaling 71,315
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Vietnam: Micro-credit agency opens branch
March, 01 2007
Vietnam - A HCM City micro-credit agency opened on Wednesday a new branch in Binh Thanh District which is expected to benefit poor people living there and in adjacent Phu Nhuan District
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