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Aug 2010
Russia: EBRD Lends 2.9 Billion Roubles for Russian Small Businesses
August, 31 2010
Moscow, Russia - The EBRD will lend up to 2.9 billion roubles (equivalent to Euros 76 million) to enable Credit Europe Bank to meet a growing demand for local currency loans from small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s), especially in the regions of Russia, at a time when many institutions have cut their lending to this grass-roots sector of the Russian economy ...
Thailand Post May Provide Microfinance Centres
August, 31 2010
Bangkok, Thailand - Thailand Post offices nationwide could be transformed into microfinance centres as part of the government's bid to extend financial services to lower-income groups, said Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij ...
Peruvian Bank to Boost Loans to Women Microentrepreneurs
August, 30 2010
Lima, Peru - Banco de la Microempresa S.A. or Mibanco will increase microfinancing to women entrepreneurs in Peru with the equivalent of $36 million in Peruvian soles provided by the IDB’s syndicated loan program. ...
Tanzania: Sh42bn up for Grabs in Housing Scheme
August, 28 2010
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - About Sh42 billion ($30 million) has been injected to ease Tanzania’s housing shortage which is currently estimated at two million housing units ...
CGAP Funder Training
August, 27 2010
Washington D.C., USA - Developing Inclusive Financial Systems: The CGAP Course for Funders of Microfinanc ...
Cameroon’s Banks, Microfinance Institutions Required to Increase Capital Reserves
August, 26 2010
Cameroon - A group of financial experts has ordered all commercial banks in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, to raise the minimum amount of their capital reserves ...
Pacific to Get Better Banking Services
August, 26 2010
Melbourne, Australia - Australia is providing $9.5 million towards an initiative that aims to improve access to basic financial services in the Pacific Islands region ...
First Microfinance Organization Operational in Vietnam
August, 25 2010
Hanoi, Vietnam - The Vietnam Women’s Union put the microfinance organization into operation in Hanoi on August 25. The organization is the first Vietnam’s microfinance body licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam. ...
Barclays Bank to Invest Rs 700 Mn in 11 Countries
August, 23 2010
Mumbai, India - Barclays Bank, India today announced the launch of a new initiative, `Banking on Change`, a savings led microfinance program which is being implemented in partnership with CARE International and Plan International. Banking on Change is being implemented across 11 countries in Asia, Africa and South America, with a total budget of Rs 700 million ...
Asia Microfinance Forum 2010 to focus on Financial Inclusion in Asia
August, 21 2010
Colombo, Sri Lanka - The Asia Microfinance Forum 2010 convened by the Banking With the Poor Network (BWTP) and organised by the Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 12-15 of October 2010. Citi Foundation is Lead Sponsor and Hatton National Bank, the Local Host for this event. Microfinance Focus will be the official media partner of the conference ...
Ibdaa Bank for Small and Microfinance Launched in Syria
August, 20 2010
Syria - Ibdaa Bank for Small and Microfinance was launched in Syria as part of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development (AGFUND) for fighting poverty and unemployment. ...
Hidden Risks of Securitization – Part II: Establishing a Sounder Basis for Microfinance
August, 19 2010
Bangalore, India - Our earlier article on the Hidden Risks behind Microfinance Securitization raised serious concerns about the inherent and largely unrecognized risks embedded in securitizations of microcredit assets. While we believe that this article provided a useful contribution to microfinance sector, we recognize that it is sometimes easier to be a critic than an actor. As the issues we raised were serious enough to inspire action, in this follow-up we explore in greater detail some of the potential solutions that we believe could mitigate these risks ...
South Korea: Borrowing Criteria Tighten
August, 19 2010
Seul, South Korea - The government said yesterday that it would strengthen lending criteria for the state-sponsored low-interest Sunshine loans for low-income families to prevent loan defaults ...
Micro-Lender Said to Hire Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JM for IPO in India
August, 19 2010
Hyderabad, India - Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd., India’s second-largest microfinance company, is likely to hire Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and JM Financial Ltd. to manage its initial public offer, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The lender may seek to raise as much as $400 million by early next year, two of the people said, declining to be named before a public announcement. ...
Pakistan: SBP Devising New Microfinance Strategy
August, 19 2010
Karachi, Pakistan - The State Bank is working on a new microfinance strategy with a greater focus on inclusive financial services that will enable the microfinance sector to cope with emerging challenges. ...
Launch of New CGAP Financial Inclusion Regulation Center
August, 17 2010
Washington, D.C. - As microfinance has evolved in recent years to encompass a number of different types of institutions offering a wide range of financial services to the poor, enabling regulatory environments have become increasingly important. However, it is often difficult to find information on financial inclusion laws and regulations.To help address this need, CGAP is pleased to announce the launch of the new Financial Inclusion Regulation Center (the “Regulation Center”) ...
CARE International UK Launches New Microfinance Website, www.lendwithcare.org
August, 17 2010
London, United Kingdom - CARE International UK, an affiliate of the aid agency CARE International, has launched www.lendwithcare.org, a microfinance website through which the public may provide funding to CARE’s partner microfinance institutions. The website’s mission is to raise money to assist individuals in the developing world reach economic independence by providing loans to start or improve small businesses ...
New program to Support Microfinance Institutions in Bolivia
August, 16 2010
La Paz, Bolivia - The initiative, which involves granting local currency loans to financial institutions serving the MSME sector, has been successfully executed by CAF in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Peru ...
Southern Sudan Microfinance Industry Seeks to Expand Loan Services
August, 16 2010
Sudan - Microfinance practitioners in Southern Sudan recently challenged donors and other industry stakeholders to help them reach more borrowers by focusing on two basics: building capacity and listening to clients. ...
Microlender, First in India to Go Public, Trades Higher
August, 16 2010
New York, United States - The first microfinance company to sell stock to the public in India got a strong endorsement from investors on Monday when its shares closed up 10.5 percent on the first day of trading ...
Omidyar Network gives Kiva $5M
August, 13 2010
San Fransisco, United States - Omidyar Network has made a $5 million, three-year grant to Kiva.org. This grant is the largest that San Francisco-based Kiva has received since the microlender was founded in October 2005 ...
Raising Awareness about Microfinance in Turkey
August, 13 2010
Turkey - There is a substantial demand for microfinance in Turkey considering the needs of underserved, unemployed women and of small-and-medium-sized enterprises that have very limited access to finance in conducting their business ventures ...
India becomes spawning ground for global micro-insurance products
August, 10 2010
India - Huge potential for micro-insurance. But this is just the first flush of success. Long-term profitability at the bottom of the pyramid, as Allianz has learnt in India, won’t be easy. Company officials tell an interesting story to illustrate this. ...
Microfinance: Keeping the Mission When Non-Profits Become For-Profits
August, 09 2010
United States - Most people with a lively interest in microfinance know that the majority of microloans dispensed throughout the world today come from for-profit microfinance institutions, rather than donation-dependent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ...
IADB Loan Boosts Micro-Credit for Women in Peru
August, 06 2010
Lima, Peru - The Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has raised money in a novel way for a micro-credit scheme in Peru aiming to provide small loans to women entrepreneurs who would normally not qualify for business loans ...
Bangladesh: Lending Rates for MFIs to be Fixed Soon
August, 06 2010
Dhaka, Bangladesh - The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) will soon finalise the lending rate for the country's Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman told a seminar here on Wednesday in the city ...
Nigeria: Nasarawa State Government to Establish 13 Micro-finance Banks
August, 05 2010
Lafia, Nigeria - Nasarawa State Government has expressed its readiness to establish micro finance banks in the 13 local government areas in order to enhance business activities in the state ...
Microfinance Institution Ujjivan Raises $10 Million via NCD Route
August, 04 2010
Bangalore, India - Bangalore based microfinance institution Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited, has today raised 45 million rupees ($10m) by way of private placement of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), said a report in Microfinance Focus ...
India's SKS Microfinance IPO Subscribed 13.55 times
August, 02 2010
Mumbai, India - The initial public offering of SKS Microfinance, aimed at raising as much as $353 million, received bids for 13.55 times the shares on offer by 5.00 pm on Monday, the last day for bids, stock exchange data showed ...
Big Brokerages Must Work to Embrace Microfinance
August, 01 2010
London, United Kingdom - Two trains are chugging through the post-crash marketplace – one full of wealthy US investors willing to put their capital toward a mix of investment return and social good, and the other of developing world entrepreneurs and institutions hungry for modern financial tools.But for now, they move along separate tracks with no junction in sight. ...

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