Featured Archive
Understanding Social Enterprise
Microfinance Focus Europe, 3 November 2013: The social enterprise model has been gaining media attention across Europe and worldwide as an innovative type of financial exercise. This new business structure is still in the formative stages, raising questions
Microfinance in the Crosshairs: Will Kyrgyzstan’s Usury Bill Backfire?
Microfinance Focus Europe, 28 October 2013: In a country with little financial regulation and no sovereign credit rating, increasing government directives may soon have negative consequences for Kyrgyzstan's microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their clients. Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek
Regulatory Supervision in Microfinance: Friend or Foe?
Over the past decade, researchers have sought to understand the effects of regulatory supervision on the behavior and efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The conclusions from these studies sparked numerous debates on the future of the industry.
Entrepreneurs Embrace Social Enterprise in the UK
Microfinance Focus Europe, 10 September 2013: A survey by the Social Enterprise UK group indicates that social enterprise is spreading among entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, now having three times the start-up proportion of traditional small and medium-sized enterprises. The biannual
Interview with Patrick Sapy, Vice President of EMN Aisbl Board
Patrick Sapy is General Manager at the Belgian MFI, microStart as well as the newly elected Vice President of the European Microfinance Network (EMN) aisbl Board of Directors. Sapy began his career in microfinance in 1993 when
University Involvement in SME Growth
Microfinance Focus Europe, 29 August 2013: Last year's performance review of SMEs by the European Commission emphasized the need to foster high-tech and knowledge-intensive SMEs. These two specific SME sectors were cited as showing the most promise for
6 Facts on the Status of European SMEs in 2012
Microfinance Focus Europe, 23 August 2013: In Europe, the global crisis tended to slow or halt the growth in SMEs. Data collected throughout 2012, however, showed evidence of the continued restoration within the sector. Employment, gross value added,
Looking Back on the 10th EMN Annual Conference
Microfinance Focus Europe, 20 August 2013: On June 25-26, the 10th European Microfinance Network (EMN) 2013 annual conference was held at the Clarion hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. EMN partnered with Swedish non-governmental organization NEEM (Network for Entrepreneurs from
Robin Hood vs. Austerity: Experts Debate Solutions to EU Poverty
Microfinance Focus Europe, 20 June 2013: Since mid-February, several Bulgarians have set themselves on fire in protest of poverty rates in their country. These self-immolations are part of a wave of protests in response to political corruption,
Video – Presentation of European Report on Development 2013
Microfinance Focus Europe, 12 June 2010: On June 10, the authors of the European Report on Development 2013 (ERD 2013) presented some of the findings of the report, which provides a contribution to the post-2015 debate, and