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Philippines’ Bicol Microfinance Council holds Microfinance Summit

Microfinance Focus, Sep 23, 2010: The Bicol Microfinance Council, Inc. (BMCI), a network of 18 Microfinance Institutions, in partnership with the Bicol Consortium for Development Initiatives (BCDI) and the Philippine Social Enterprise Development Center (SEDCen), is holding...

IFC helps improve microfinance policy framework in Europe and Central Asia

Microfinance Focus, Oct 26, 2010: World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) is helping improve the legal and institutional framework for microfinance in Europe and Central Asia to increase access to finance for microentrepreneurs and general population.

USAID-TIJARA to hold Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders’ Conference 2010

Microfinance Focus, Nov 8, 2010: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Iraq’s Provincial Economic Growth Program, Tijara will be holding Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders’...

Grameen Foundation’s volunteer program to scale Microfinance

Microfinance Focus, November 15, 2010: Grameen Foundation has recently initiated Bankers without Borders (BwB) Alliance Program which focuses on helping to expand its skills-based volunteering initiative to Latin America and Asia. The BwB Alliance will help microfinance and technology-for-...

Microfinance in Sri Lanka: Learning from Andhra crisis

Microfinance Focus, November 22, 2010 (J. Charitha Ratwatte): At a time when we in Sri Lanka are considering the passage of new legislation to regulate Microfinance (MF), it would be an appropriate time to consider recent events in Andhra Pradesh in India. There has been an unprecedented...

Microfinance Crisis Prompts Indian MFIs to Lay off Employees

Microfinance Focus December 29, 2010: Stung by an industry-wide liquidity crunch and abysmal repayment rates in Andhra Pradesh, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are facing yet another blow. Microfinance Focus has learned of a large number of employees being laid off by some MFIs.