Archive for the ‘Featured News’ Category

By Daniel Rozas and Sanjay Sinha, Microfinance Focus, Jan 10, 2010 :We live in a time of object lessons.  The economic crisis continues to buffet many countries, including the US, where the unemployment rate has now breached 10% for only the second time in the last 70 years, taking only 18 months to get there – the largest and steepest increase since World War II.  Three ... Full story

By Vijay Mahajan and P N Vasudevan Microfinance Focus , Jan 10, 2010 : The past few years have seen the entire microfinance sector grow exponentially. As with any other boom, suspicion always exists on whether a bust is just around the corner. This is especially true in the current international setting; with a major financial bust that humbled Alan Greenspan to admit he was “in ... Full story

By Naagesh Naaraayana Microfinance Focus, Jan. 4, 2010: With more than Rs. 1,000 crore capital inflow into the microfinance sector in 2009, new avenues to raise funds have come under scrutiny of microfinance institutions to meet the demand for rapid expansion that the sector is witnessing in the last two years despite the global financial ... Full story

By Peter Burgess, New York Bureau –Microfinance Focus Microfinance Focus, Jan 2, 2010 :What is the missing middle? A small business can be started using the resources of family and friends. While big business can be expanded using all sorts of financing instruments … stock, bonds, bank lines of credit, leasing, etc., a small business that want to expand to be a big business is faced ... Full story

By Asma Azmi, Assistant Editor -Microfinance Focus Microfinance Focus, Dec. 30, 2009: The year 2009 may go down as the watershed year for the Indian microfinance industry. Marked by strong growth and pioneering deals the industry is riding high, growing at a rapid pace of 100%-200% year-on-year. Attracting attention from mainstream investors, the sector accounted ... Full story

By Vikash Kumar Microfinance Focus , Dec. 23, 2009 : The outcome of a gigantic global exercise for environmental redemptions at Copenhagen may have proved too little but the funds committed by nations is set to trigger another entirely new market economy, call it carbon finance or climate ... Full story

December 22, 2009, WASHINGTON, D.C.—“The music of prosperity will sound out through the drum beats to end poverty,” said, Sam Daley-Harris, Founder of RESULTS and the Microcredit Summit Campaign.  He announced today an innovative new partnership in, “Drumming an End to Poverty,” www.drumminganendtopoverty.org a global Drum Circle to be broadcast on the opening day ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec 22, 2009: Mitra Dhuafa, an Indonesian microfinance institution with the collaboration of Grameen Foundation (GF) has provided more than $2.2 million in funding to help more than 16,000 women in Banda Achenese, the region closest to the tsunami's epicenter. The funds and support has helped their families recover from the tragedy by ... Full story

By Sam Daley-Harris, Founder- Microcredit Summit Campaign “There are many visions for microfinance, including this one: providing microfinance for redemption.   The dictionary defines redemption as restoring one’s honor and worth, setting one free.  Isn’t that the highest vision for all of development: assisting people in restoring their honor and worth—setting them free from the bondage of poverty?” ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 15, 2009: Microfinance Pioneer and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has delivered a Lecture at the joint-meeting of the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha of India, in Delhi on December 9, 2009. Here is the  complete excerpt of the Lecture. --/---/--- Hon'ble Vice President, ... Full story

By Dr.  Satchidananda S. Sogala , Founder & CEO, GLOBAL RISK HUB.COM Microfinance Focus, Dec. 13, 2009 : Financial Inclusion is in fashion today! Sometimes, this buzz seems to be going the way of the RBI -mandated “no- frills account” or the good old Priority Sector Lending (PSLP) Prescription.    Some banks claimed that they have achieved financial inclusion by opening “No-frills Accounts” on a large scale ... Full story

By Ayesha Dsouza Microfinance Focus, Dec. 12, 2009: BASIX founder and Indian microfinance icon Mr Vijay Mahajan sees microfinance sector come out of its traditional role and venture out with many new products and expanding financial services to both women and men.... Full story

By Prof. Jonathan Warner, Professor at Quest University Canada Microfinance Focus , Dec. 08, 2009 : In my earlier article (Microfinance Focus August 2009 - Download ) I wrote about the potential of using community currencies, or scrip, as a basis of a local microfinance project. As I pointed out there, ... Full story

MIcrofinance Focus, Dec. 7, 2009: MoneyGram International, a leading global money transfer company, announced on Monday that two more banks-Abhyudaya Co-op Bank Ltd and Thane Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd (TJSB) -- will soon be offering MoneyGram money transfer services. With these, 18 Indian banks offer MoneyGram's services. Abhyudaya and Thane Janata Sahakari banks are MoneyGram's first urban co-operatives, and they extend the company's reach into smaller ... Full story