Posts Tagged ‘africa’

Microfinance Focus, March 6, 2010: IFC has launched a series of programs this weekend in cooperation with the central banks of Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania aimed at increasing the quality of credit reporting in Africa. The lack of credit information hinders banks from widely offering financial services, improved reporting and creditworthiness. IFC has co-hosted a series of regional workshops that brought together central banks, financial ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Feb 26, 2010: Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Máxima of The Netherlands, Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, BRAC Chair Sir Fazle Abed, and other microfinance leaders from the region will address the Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit to be held April 7-10, 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. A program featuring ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Feb 19, 2010: Grameen Foundation has announced a two-year initiative to help African microfinance institutions (MFIs) better target poor clients and track how they are moving out of poverty. The first of its kind in Africa, the initiative is being organised by the PPI™ Users Collaborative in Africa (PUCA), a new, multi-stakeholder group that unites five charter partners – Oikocredit, Catholic Relief Services, Terrafina ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Feb 18, 2010: mChek, a Mobile Money Solutions company has been certified by Western Union as a Mobile Money Transfer Vendor, said a statement from mChek. The certification under the Western Union Mobile Vendor Program was received after a technology integration and certification testing program, it said. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) around the globe can now partner with Western Union to offer ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Feb 16, 2010: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said it will set up microfinance institutions in Zambia this year in an effort to enhance access to microfinance services by many people, the Post of Zambia reported on Wednesday. IFC Information Officer Houtan Bassiri said the institution, which is a member of the World Bank, has partnered with Germany's KfW Entwicklungsbank in helping address ... Full story

Micofinance Focus, Jan. 15, 2010: Advans SA SICAR has announced the completion of its second round of fundraising for an amount of EUR 23 million. With this, the total committed capital of  Advans SA to EUR 40.1 million. This additional capital, committed to by existing shareholders, will support the development of the Advans network over the coming years and increase its ability to offer adapted financial ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Jan.8, 2010: Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC in Bangladesh and a pioneer in the fight to end poverty, will participate in the Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit to be held April 7-10, 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr Abed's name was included in HRH Queen Elizabeth of England's New Year's Honors List released on December 31, 2009. He will be knighted by Queen ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 18, 2009: The Carsey Institute of the University of New Hampshire has set up a Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP), that was formerly known as the Microenterprise and Development Institute (MDI). Mr William Maddocks, coordinator of the initiative, said the program will provide training for practitioners in the microfinance and microenterprise development and it will hold three workshops in the United ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 2, 2009: LeapFrog Investments, a major microinsurance investment fund, has announced a ZAR 50 million (over US$6 million) investment in AllLife, the innovative South African insurer serving people living with HIV and diabetes. The investment brings together LeapFrog, the leading microinsurance investment fund, and AllLife, one of Africa's most innovative insurance businesses. The announcement was made on the occasion of  World AIDS Day ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Nov. 3, 2009: Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson on the award-winning animated television series, The Simpsons, has donated $1.14 million to Grameen Foundation and Fonkoze, a Haitian microfinance institution. The donation of $900,000 to Grameen Foundation will support a new initiative geared toward expanding micro-loans and other sustainable opportunities for people living at the very bottom of the economic ladder. The donation of $240,000 ... Full story

By Matthew Fuchs Microfinance Focus, Oct. 26, 2009: African workers send home more than $40 billion to the region each year but restrictive laws and costly fees hamper the power of remittances to lift people out of poverty, according to a new report by the UN’s rural development agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), stated a press release. Remittances are sources of income for poor ... Full story

By Naagesh Naaraayana Microfinance Focus, Sept. 18, 2009: Over the next 10 years, CARE plans to provide basic financial services for 30 million of Africa’s poorest people in 39 countries, and at least 70 percent of them will be women. CARE, a humanitarian organisation with its Access Africa program on village savings and loans, is empowering ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Sept. 8, 2009: Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have approved a grant of US$1 million to AB Microfinance Bank of Nigeria (ABN) from the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA). The technical assistance contribution from FAPA, which makes up 7.7% of the overall TA package, will be used to co-finance the provision of technical assistance to ABN to build the capacity of the institution during its first few years of operation. FAPA funds will pay to bring in long-term management staff as well as short-term experts for the implementation of new IT/MIS systems and staff training. FAPA funds will cover costs related to these experts for a three-year start-up phase, after which trained ABN staff will replace them. Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 17, 2009: Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital firm focusing on poverty in South Asia and East Africa, announced on Monday the list of new fellows selected for 2010. The program received 370 applications from 49 countries, a statement said. The program will have an eight-week training course followed by a nine-month assignment with one of Acumen's portfolio companies in health care, housing, water and energy. The Fund's 2010 Fellows are: Full story