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May 2014
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Archives:
Papua New Guinea: PNG Extends Financial Services to Rural Areas
May, 30 2014
Papua New Guinea - According to the latest estimate from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as of 2011 nearly 85% of the county’s population did not have access to financial services ...
Ted Barber, Prosperity Candle: Impact Investing - Can We Pay Her Less?
May, 30 2014
Global - There is nothing wrong with prioritizing profit. Many argue it is the best way to attract capital to the impact investing space. ...
Azerbaijan: Microfinance Organizations Invited to Money Market Again
May, 29 2014
Azerbaijan - The Baku Interbank Currency Exchange (BBVB) is ready to incorporate new potential participants into MONEY-Market operating in its Bourse E-System of Trades (BEST) ...
Companies to Provide Microcredit for the First Time in Egypt
May, 29 2014
Egypt - New law approved by Egypt's government will give informal businesses greater access to loans, with a maximum of LE100,000 available in microcredit ...
Mexico: Findep Announces the Pricing of Its US$200 Million in Senior Notes Due 2019 at 7.500%
May, 28 2014
Mexico - Financiera Independencia, S.A.B. de C.V. SOFOM, E.N.R.,a leading microfinance lender to lower income groups and individuals in Mexico, announces the pricing, at a coupon rate of 7.500%, of its US$200 million Senior Notes, to be issued pursuant to exemptions from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. ...
New Campaign Commitment by UN Agency FAO Will Help Make Inclusive Agricultural Investments Feasible
May, 28 2014
Global - The Microcredit Summit Campaign welcomes the Food and Agriculture Organization, the leading organization within the UN system in the field of food and agriculture, as the newest Campaign Commitment member. FAO has launched a research initiative to identify and up-scale innovative financial arrangements that make inclusive agricultural investments ...
Colombia: IFC and Partners Launch Secured Lending Framework to Boost Financing for Small Businesses
May, 27 2014
Colombia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, officially launched in collaboration with Colombia’s Superintendence of Corporations and the Colombian Federation of Chambers of Commerce (Confecamaras), a secured lending platform in Colombia that will greatly expand financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) ...
Kenya’s Equity Bank Unveils MVNO Strategy, Launch Set for July
May, 26 2014
Kenya - Kenya’s Equity Bank has unveiled its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) strategy and rollout plan, with the launch date set for July and the bank hoping to compete with more established players ...
Making Money Easy to Access in the Philippines
May, 24 2014
Philippines - Getting rid of cash transactions and giving low-income earners access to electronic payment systems could help businesses and individuals save money, says the head of MasterCard’s Southeast Asia operations ...
India: Vistaar Finance Raises Rs 160 Crore in Fresh Funding
May, 23 2014
India - WestBridge Capital, which typically invests in listed companies, is leading a Rs 160-crore investment in Bangalore-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) Vistaar Finance. ...
Australia Supports Financial Inclusion in the Pacific
May, 22 2014
The Pacific - Australian Secretary for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese launched a AUD$14.15 million (FJD$24 million) three-year partnership today with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, aimed at increasing financial services for disadvantaged households across the Pacific ...
Marc Gunther, Guardian Sustainable Business US: The Base of the Pyramid - Will Selling to the Poor Pay Off?
May, 22 2014
Global - The concept of serving the world's poorest four billion or so people has been popular since CK Prahalad introduced the idea a decade ago. But so far, profits remain elusive. ...
Scoring for Access: Emerging Evidence on the Impact of Credit Scoring on SME Lending
May, 22 2014
Global - Why can’t financial institutions in developing countries meet the demand for credit from SMEs ...
UN Study to Help Build a Financial Inclusion Road Map for Myanmar
May, 22 2014
Myanmar - The UN Capital Development Fund and the UN Development Programme jointly launched the results of the Making Access Possible (MAP) Myanmar Diagnostic - a comprehensive study of Myanmar's financial services sector and an analysis of its potential to enhance financial inclusion as the country's economic reforms take hold. ...
New IFC Study Shows How Innovations in Digital Financial Services Are Driving Financial Inclusion in Africa
May, 21 2014
Africa - Major new trends and innovations in digital financial services are opening up the possibility of significantly expanding financial inclusion in Africa, according to a new study released today by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and The MasterCard Foundation. ...
India: SKS Trust Sells 7.6% Stake in SKS Microfinance
May, 21 2014
India - SKS Trusts Advisors, which was so far the largest shareholder in the microlending company SKS Microfinance, has cut down its stake from 12.47 to 4.88 per cent, selling shares in a block deal. ...
LuxFLAG European ESG Label Launched
May, 21 2014
Luxembourg - LuxFLAG, the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency, has announced the launch of the LuxFlag ESG label, which will be granted to investment funds meeting specific environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. ...
Modi’s Victory to Open India’s Equity Capital Markets
May, 20 2014
India - India’s equity capital markets are back in business following the landslide election of prime minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi last week, in a sign of growing investor confidence in Asia’s third-largest economy ...
Cambodia: Amret MFI Gets $10M Loan to Aid SME Reach
May, 20 2014
Cambodia - Amret Microfinance received a $10 million boost yesterday by a loan from German development bank KfW, according to a joint statement from the finance institutions ...
Somaliland Has Embraced Mobile Money – But at What Price?
May, 19 2014
Somaliland - Mobile money platform Zaad is booming in Somaliland, but there is concern its reliance on the dollar is damaging the economy. ...
Nigeria: CBN Votes N132b to Empower Women
May, 18 2014
Nigeria - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) voted N132 billion under its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), to enhance Women Economic Empowerment ...
How Big Is the BoP? IFC's Global Consumption Database Offers Answers
May, 17 2014
Global - Seven years later, the IFC has updated and significantly expanded the picture of the market first articulated by “The Next 4 Billion,” and this week delivered it in a publicly accessible resource called The Global Consumption Database ...
FINCA International Assures Support to Pakistan's Microfinance Sector
May, 16 2014
Pakistan - FINCA International, the world’s leading microfinance organisation, has assured its commitment to developing Pakistan’s economy through the growth of the country’s microfinance sector. ...
MIX Introduces Groundbreaking System for Analyzing Data on Financially Underserved Communities
May, 14 2014
Global - MIX, a leading information provider and thought leader in the microfinance sector, announced today FINclusion Lab, the first data visualization and analysis platform that brings together the elements of financial services activities, markets, and products, including national and sub-national views. ...
Active Client Base of Islamic Microfinance Has Exceeded Two Million
May, 13 2014
Global - The demand of Islamic microfinance is rapidly increasing in order to serve poverty alleviation and social development, its active client size have exceeded to 2 million now from which more than 700,000 belong to Sudan and more than 400,000 clients of Islamic Microfinance Institutions are from Pakistan ...
‘Shadow banking’ Makes Up One-fifth of China’s Financial Assets
May, 13 2014
China - Lending outside formal channels in China that's beyond the reach of regulators include activities by online finance platforms, credit guarantee companies and microcredit firms ...
Lindsay Clinton, SustainAbility: Building New Marketplaces at the Bottom of the Pyramid
May, 12 2014
Global - Companies around the world are learning that selling to the poor can benefit both society and the bottom line ...
62% Zambians Lack Access to Financial Services
May, 12 2014
Zambia - Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Michael Gondwe has observed that financial inclusion continues to be a challenge regardless of the positive economic performance that the country has recorded in the recent past ...
Investing Evolves
May, 07 2014
Global - A brief history of investing that advances environmental and social concerns, and why impact investors and sustainable investors should look to what they have in common, not how they differ. ...
"Bottom-up" Development in Post-neoliberal Latin America
May, 07 2014
Latin America - Milford Bateman suggests that new forms of industrial policy are (re)emerging, including at the local level, and are beginning to transform the continent’s industrial structure in a positive direction ...
Philippines: DBM Sets Up P2B Micro-finance Program for Yolanda Survivors
May, 07 2014
Philippines - The government has set up a P2-billon fund that aims to help small businesses get cheap financing to bring their lives back in order, create new jobs and revive the economies of areas still recovering from typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) ...
Azerbaijan Witnesses Microfinance Market Increase
May, 07 2014
Azerbaijan - The portfolio of microfinance organizations -members of AMFA- totaled $1,105 billion in 2013. The figure is 36.42 percent higher than 2012, when its volume was $810.55 million ...
Indonesia: Major Lenders Gear Up for Digital Financial Services
May, 05 2014
Indonesia - Following Bank Indonesia’s (BI) decision to revise its electronic money regulation, major lenders are now preparing to venture into the new frontier of branchless banking, with an aim to reach those underserved by banks ...
India: Bandhan Financial Services Lowers Lending Rate by 50 Bps
May, 05 2014
India - After grabbing a banking licence, microfinance company Bandhan Financial Services has reduced the lending rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 22.4%. ...
Bangladesh: Microfinance Credit Bureau - Let's Make the Dream Come True
May, 04 2014
Bangladesh - The main point is that establishing a Microfinance Credit Bureau in Bangladesh, with design, development and operationalisation of a world class automated system for managing millions of consumer credit files, is neither difficult nor impossible, and it should not take more than a year to start operations ...
New J.P. Morgan & GIIN Survey Indicates Higher Impact Investment Commitments, Investor Satisfaction
May, 03 2014
Global - 125 of the world's largest impact investors, including fund managers, banks, foundations, development finance institutions, and pension funds surveyed by J.P. Morgan and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) expect to commit 19% more capital to impact investments in 2014 compared to 2013, as satisfaction with the financial returns and the social and environmental impact of these investments remains high. ...
Nigeria: Pathway to Greater Financial Inclusion
May, 01 2014
Nigeria - Obinna Chima reckons that the planned registration of Bank Verification Numbers for customers from May will strengthen the country’s drive for financial inclusion. ...
Impact Investors Struggle to Present Their Sector to the General Public
May, 01 2014
USA - What qualifies as “impact” investing – and how exactly should non-financial impacts be measured? Those may seem like pretty basic questions – yet at the recent Sustainatopia Impact Conference last month, clear answers were in short supply ...

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