Microfinance Focus, May 31, 2010: International Finance Corporation (IFC) has recently collaborated with Vietnam’s Techcombank (VIETNAM Technological & Commercial Bank) to assist the bank in developing energy efficiency lending facility for local small and medium enterprises in the country. IFC will be providing $24 million and will mobilize $1 million from Earth Fund. Techcombank is committing $25 million to build a total portfolio of $50 million over the next two years. It plans to provide long-term financing to support companies, especially small and medium enterprises, in efforts to replace equipment and upgrade technology and systems for greater efficiency, increased productivity, cost saving, and emission reduction.
“This is the right and timely move to help Techcombank’s customers become more competitive while coping with energy price volatility and the challenging mismatch of energy demand and supply,” said Nguyen Duc Vinh, Techcombank’s CEO. “Energy efficiency financing is a new business area for local commercial banks in Vietnam, and IFC’s global experience will help us establish a right business model.”
IFC’s investment is in line with the government’s national program on energy conservation, which sets targets of achieving annual energy saving equal to 5 percent to 8 percent of total national energy consumption over the 2010-2015 period. This lending facility also will be open for cleaner production investments that help reduce wastes and resource consumption such as water and material inputs. In addition to the loans, IFC also provides advisory services to Techcombank in product development, marketing, staff training, pipeline development, and partnership building with a network of technical service providers. IFC has been a partner of Techcombank since 2003, providing both investment and advisory services.
“Expanding availability of long-term finance and designing specialized lending products for energy efficiency investments will help accelerate the modernization process in enterprises and move the country economy towards a low-carbon growth path,” said Simon Andrews, IFC Regional Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand. “This is our first collaboration to open up the energy efficiency financing market in Vietnam” he stated.
Microfinance Focus, May 31, 2010: The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) has recently approved a loan for 3.8 billion Colombian pesos (approximately US$2 million) in favour of the World Foundation of Bucaramanga Women to support Colombian entrepreneurs. This is the first time the Latin American development bank has granted a loan to the microfinance sector in local currency. The loan is part of the Program in Local Currency for 40 billion Colombian pesos which CAF introduced a few months ago in Colombia to meet the needs of this sector which has traditionally suffered from limited access to credit.
“In the interests of promoting economic growth with equity, CAF has been stimulating micro-entrepreneurs in Latin America by supporting specialized financial institutions. This operation responds to the needs of microfinance institutions which require dollars but also local currency to eliminate exchange risk,” CAF director representative in Colombia Victor Traverso said. Headquartered in Venezuela, CAF is a multilateral financial institution with 18 member countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
The World Foundation of Bucaramanga Women is a microcredit financial institution set up in 1987 and affiliated to the international network of Women´s World Banking which uses financial products and services to stimulate the economic and social development of low-income women by making them into qualified borrowers which empowers them to participate in the productive economy.
Micorfinance Focus, May 31, 2010: Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX) recognized 13 microfinance institutions (MFIs) from Eastern Europe and Central Asia for reporting their 2009 social performance data at the Microfinance Centre’s Annual Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan. AzerCredit of Azerbaijan received the Gold Social Performance Reporting Award, while Nor Horizon of Armenia and DemirBank of Azerbaijan both received the Silver Award. The Social Performance Reporting Award, sponsored by CGAP, Dell Foundation and Ford Foundation, and powered by MIX, recognizes transparency in social performance reporting.
Ten other MFIs were also recognized for social performance reporting with certificates. AccessBank, Azerbaijan Azeri Star, Bai Tushum, Kyrgyzstan Caucasus Credit, CredAgro, Azerbaijan KEP, Kosovo, Kompanion, Kyrgyzstan SINERGIJA, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Avrasiya Kredit, Azerbaijan Imon, Tajikistan were the recipients. MIX will also be participating in a workshop on Social Performance Management.
The Social Performance Reporting Awards showcase the achievements of those MFIs that are committed to transparency and accountability by reporting on the way their efforts directly impact poor clients. The Social Performance Reporting Awards provide a yardstick for those wanting to assess an MFI’s commitment not only to showing progress in helping its clients, but also to supporting its staff, and protecting the environment. As such, the awards reward openness and accountability in reporting, not the actual performance of MFIs on these measures. More than 200 MFIs submitted reports on their social performance in 2009 to MIX and this number is expected to increase significantly in the second round of awards.
Microfinance Focus, May 31, 2010: Microfinance News Synopsis brings a compilation of industry headlines broadcasted by other news media from across the world.
More Small Businesses May Benefit From Microlending: The microfinance industry is setting its sights on U.S. small businesses, IndiaWest reports.A recent report from IndiaWest has potentially exciting news for entrepreneurs looking for lending. According to the paper, microfinance lending is currently expanding from the developing world and setting its sights on small business entrepreneurs in the United States. Remarks from panelists at the Microfinance USA conference in San Francisco emphasized this fact, the paper says. The two-day conference was organized by Opportunity Fund, a microfinancing institution from San Jose, California [gaebler.com]
Are banks, loan sharks conniving to rip off hard-pressed Zimbabweans: NO matter how broke you are, just walk into a microfinance institution and all your financial problems would be solved within a very short space of time? This is the belief that many poor Zimbabweans have about microfinance institutions and loan sharks. Well, it sounds as easy as that. And most of Zimbabwe’s poor, hoping to fast track their way out of poverty have fallen into this trap hoping to get rich quickly, only to learn the hard way that they are further condemning themselves into poverty. “Getting the loan is not a problem, but the challenge is what happens immediately afterwards,” [The Standard]
The start of a megatrend: INDIA’S largest microfinance lender, SKS Microfinance, hopes to raise US$250 million in July through an initial public offering (IPO) – the first microfinance institution (MFI) in the country to go for a listing. Not only does SKS’s impending IPO spotlight India’s rapidly expanding microfinance industry, it also revives the debate about how MFIs should be funded. Traditionally, MFIs finance their lending through donations or deposits from borrowers. A more controversial, though increasingly popular option is private equity funding. Since its inception in 1997 as a non-governmental organisation, Swayam Krishi Sangam (SKS) has shown phenomenal growth [The Sunday Daily]
Why 65% of Nigerians cannot access credit: lot of factors which include inability of microfinance banks to enlighten low income earners on their operations and poor corporate governance among others could be attributed to majority of the populace not having access to credit facilities. From World Bank’s report of 2008, Nigeria has nearly 70 percent of its population living in poverty with more than 54 percent living below the poverty line less than one US dollar a day [Business Day]
Microfinance Network of Arab Countries, Sanabel, Starts Annual Meeting Tuesday: Microfinance Network of Arab Countries (Sanabel), in cooperation and coordination with the State Planning Commission, holds its 7th conference under the title Responsible Growth: Learning from Global Trends and Regional Experiences on Tuesday at the Damascus-based Conferences Palace. The conference is held under the patronage of Mrs. Asmaa al-Assad. More than 600 people from Arab and foreign countries and a number of international and regional experts are participating in this conference. The conference aims at exchanging the Arab and international experiences in the field of microfinance and achieving best results for the targeted segments [ISRIA]
Chandula invited to serve in Cambodian Microfinance Institution: DEVELOPING WORLD MARKETS (DWM), a US based equity investor in Microfinance, which is the largest investor in Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Ltd (TPC), one of the largest Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia with a market share of over 10%, has invited Chandula to serve as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Both DWM and TPC having recognised the significant contribution he has made to the Microfinance industry in Asia, have shown their keenness to use Chandula’s expertise and knowledge in the vibrant Microfinance industry in Cambodia [Daily Mirror]
Microfinance Focus, a niche media brings you the latest and breaking stories, news analysis, interviews and experts opinion …. Watch out for latest on Microfinance!!!
Microfinance Focus, May 24, 2010: Gurcharan Das an author, a management guru and a public intellectual has forayed into microfinance by joining one of the leading microfinance institutions, the SKS. He is currently the Chairman of SKS’s Society and is on the boards of a number of other companies. He was the Managing Director of Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning) before becoming a … Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 27, 2010: Editor’s Note: In 2009 Philippines was awarded as the best nation for microfinance regulatory framework by the First Annual Global Microfinance Index and Study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit of The Economist Group. Since then it has added many feathers to its cap by crafting new policies for its microfinance sec..Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 24, 2010: SaaS (Software as a Service) is fast emerging as the model of choice for implementing Management Information Systems in Microfinance Organisations to help enable them to streamline their operations cost-effectively. By enabling Real-time access to information, to provide further value addition, SaaS, is saving a lot of productive time of …Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 29, 2010: The 13th Inter-American Microenterprise Forum, Foromic 2010 of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) …Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 27, 2010: The Smart Campaign, a global campaign made up of microfinance leaders from around the world who believe protecting clients is not only …Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 27, 2010: Utiba Americas, a subsidiary of Alternet Systems Inc, has entered into an agreement to provide mobile commerce platform services to Globalcash S.A. in Ecuador. Utiba Americas is deploying a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform ...Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 27, 2010: Banco Compartamos, S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple, announced that at the Annual Ordinary Shareholders’ meeting, which took place on April 19, 2010, shareholders approved a cash dividend in the amount of Ps. 374,036,108.40 (three hundred seventy four million thirty six thousand one hundred eight pesos and fort…Full story
Microfinance Focus, May 29, 2010: The World Bank Group’s Board of Directors has recently approved a US$40 million loan in support of the Metro Water and Sanitation Improvement Project in Panama. The Project will expand coverage of water supply for 100,000 people and sanitation services for 60,000; increase efficiency and support the National Water and Sewer Agency, IDAAAN, in its modernization in selected areas of the Panama metropolitan region. The Project will target the areas east of the Panama Canal
The project will increase the quality, coverage and efficiency of the water supply and sanitation services in the lower-income neighbourhoods of the Panama metropolitan region. This is a five-year US$40 million IBRD Specific Investment Loan (SIL), which combines investments and technical assistance financing. The loan has a 20 year maturity that includes a five year grace period. The Government of Panama, through IDAAN’s budget, will contribute US$15 million in counterpart funds.
“Access to drinking water and proper sewage systems is crucial to sustain Panama’s continued growth and development, and the Panama Metro Water and Sanitation Improvement Project is an important contributor to the country’s Development Plan water strategy. It involves crucial investments in water quality and quantity, but most importantly it seeks to boost the efficiency of the State’s water supply and sanitation sector,” said Laura Frigenti World Bank Country Director for Central America.
This project will finance network extension and rehabilitation activities, initially focusing on the neighborhoods of Alcalde Diaz and Chilibre and parts of the district of San Miguelito in the Panama metropolitan region, where service is currently limited for a significant part of the residents and sewer connection rates are lower than in other parts of the region. It will also revisit IDAAN’s approach to work in lower-income settlements utilizing regional good practices and a strong social outreach program that will be developed to ensure that new users actually connect to the networks being built.
Microfinance Focus, May 29, 2010: The 13th Inter-American Microenterprise Forum, Foromic 2010 of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) will be held in Montevideo, Uruguay from October 6-8, 2010, according to a press release. During Foromic 2010 the MIF will present its annual awards for microenterprise development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The contest is open to microfinance institutions, credit unions, banks and NGOs specialized in microfinance and in providing enterprise development services in this region.
The awards for best microfinance institution and best practices in social performance will be based on objective indicators that track hundreds of organizations in the field of microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean. The winners will also receive a special recognition from the Citibank Foundation. This year the award for excellence in enterprise development services will recognize organizations that provide innovative solutions for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses in rural areas. Nominations for this award will be received until June 4.
Every year Foromic draws more than 1,000 delegates from financial institutions, consulting firms, government agencies and international organizations interested in microenterprise. Registration for the event will open on June 1. The MIF, an autonomous fund administered by the IDB, promotes prívate sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on microenterprises and small businesses. Since its establishment in 1992 it has been a leading supporter of microfinance in this region.
Microfinance Focus, May 29, 2010: Microfinance News Synopsis brings a compilation of industry headlines broadcasted by other news media from across the world.
Barclays launches microfinance partnership with Plan and Care in Ghana: Barclays and International development organisations, Plan and CARE International on Friday launched ‘Banking on Change’, a microfinance initiative, for about 63,000 people in Ghana. The 10 million-pound programme to be run for the next three years is expected to reach about 500,000 disadvantaged people with financial services in 10 countries across Africa, Asia and South America. The partnership’s focus is on improving quality of life for the poor [Ghana Web]
Why are microfinance interest rates so high: Americans often suffer sticker shock when they hear about interest rates charged in international microfinance. At annualized rates above 20 percent, most Americans start getting uncomfortable, and when they hear that in some places annual rates rise as high as 100 percent or even more, their moral outrage beepers start to malfunction. This is unfortunate, because when we are in a state of high outrage, it’s hard to listen [Huffington Post]
MFI profits raise questions about transparency: N their 2008 annual report, Maxima Mikroheranhvatho Co Ltd, a relatively small microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Cambodia, reported that its return on equity (ROE) – the percentage of profit returned to their shareholders that year – had risen by 1.6 percent, up to 14.2 percent , after a five-year slide. Achieving such a high ROE while lending in Cambodia – rated 137 out of 183 countries in the UN’s 2009 Human Development Index [Phnom Penh Post]
Truestone aims to make an impact with green multi fund: Truestone Asset Management is planning to offer a new green multi- manager fund to capitalise on opportunities in impact investments. The company says it has seen increased client demand for impact investments, which it says aim to deliver good potential return while making a positive impact on the environment. The fund is expected to launch at the end of the third quarter and will invest in a number of sectors, including sustainable forestry, microfinance, agriculture, social housing and renewable energy [American Chronicle]
Microfinance Focus, May 28, 2010: On his two day visit to Lima, the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mr. Strauss-Kahn, discussed the outlook of the Latin American region in a roundtable with Minister Mercedes Aráoz, and the finance ministers of Bolivia, Luis Arce, of Mexico, Ernesto Cordero, and of Uruguay, Fernando Lorenzo. “The global economic crisis demonstrates how Latin America has turned a corner”, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said. “Thanks to adept management of their economies in recent years, the countries of the region were able to cushion their populations from the adverse effects of themselves against the downturn and bounce back quickly. Another positive change is that growth throughout the region has been accompanied by a fall in poverty and social inequality” he added.
After a meeting with Peru’s President Alan García, Minister of Economics and Finance Mercedes Aráoz and President of the Central Reserve Bank Julio Velarde, Mr. Strauss said, “With a recovery underway that will see growth in Peru of between 6-7 percent this year, the challenge now is to manage success by continuing the timely and gradual phasing out stimulus and avoid the build-up of inflationary pressures, which hit the poor hardest”. Applauding Peru’s fast track growth and poverty reduction by instituting strong economic policies, he called Peru as an example to the other emerging markets.
Responding to the decision taken today by Peru to give final approval to the 2008 amendments of the IMF Articles of Agreement, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said, “This is a welcome decision. The amendment is a landmark reform in the governance of the IMF that gives dynamic emerging market economies and low-income countries a bigger voice in the IMF.” During the final day of his two-day visit to Lima, Mr. Strauss Kahn will address the Third Meeting of Finance Ministers of the Americas and Caribbean on May 28.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn also answered questions from students from Peru and other countries in the region at a town hall meeting hosted by Lima’s Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. “The strength of this region is in its youth. I want to understand the concerns of the future leaders of Latin America,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn said. The event was the culmination of an “Ask the IMF” campaign, run in collaboration with the Consorcio de Investigación Económica y Social and Peru’s El Comercio newspaper, in which 600 young people from Latin America posed 1,000 questions over 10 days to Mr. Strauss-Kahn.
Microfinance Focus, May 28, 2010: The World Bank Group‘s Lighting Africa Program have recently awarded five innovative products as the best able to deliver safe, reliable and cost-effective lighting to millions of people in Africa who currently rely on fuel-based lamps or other low-quality products. Barefoot Power a social entrepreneurial business won the award in the room lighting category and also in top performance category. Barefoot Power‘s Firefly, won the best value category for products that cost under $40 and came second in the task lighting category.
Barefoot designs and manufactures technology products specifically for poor people that have the potential to reduce poverty in developing countries. It has developed a range of affordable quality lighting products and initiated their mass manufacture. Barefoot aims to establish an efficient grassroots distribution network to supply the poor with these and other 21st century technology products.
The winners were judged by a panel of industry experts and announced in Nairobi, Kenya at the Lighting Africa Conference and Trade Fair. Lighting Africa is helping mobilize the private sector to provide modern, off-grid lighting – such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) to more than 250 million people in Sub- Saharan Africa by 2030. Greenlight Planet‘s Sun King‘, won in the task lighting category and took second in the best value category. SunTransfer took second place in the top performance category. Light Design‘s Nova S200‘, which took second place in the room lighting category.
Jean-Philippe Prosper, IFC‘s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said, “The awards mark the beginning of a process that will help consumers identify quality lighting products more easily. The awards were designed to recognize off-grid lighting systems that achieve high performance, while remaining affordable for low- income earners in Sub Saharan Africa.”
Lighting Africa, a joint World Bank and IFC developmental initiative, will provide feedback to the five winners and all of the 24 finalists with detailed laboratory test results and user comments to help them refine their products and ready them for the African market. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group.
Lighting Africa‘s technical partners are the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy in Freiburg, Germany, the National Lighting Test Center in Beijing, China, and the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University in California. Lighting Africa is implemented in partnership with: the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Energy Sector Management Assistance (ESMAP), The UK Department for International Development (DFID), Good Energies Inc., Luxemburg, The Netherlands, The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), The Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), and the Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE).
