microfinance

Microfinance activities & Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision

2nd Microfinance & New Technologies Summit

11 Mar 2010 - 12 Mar 2010

Where: Morocco

http://www.mfntsummit2010.com/ang/mfnt.php

cooperation ICT microfinance mobile banking money transfer

Shared by ledna-team - 25/01/2010

UNCDF Microfinance Distance Learning Program

UNCDF offers a distance learning course on Microfinance for free!

The Microfinance Distance Learning Course was designed for new entrants to the field of microfinance and has appealed to a broad range of people, including policy makers, donors, practitioners, academics and students. Staff of microfinance operations have found this course extremely useful - a chance to step back and see how their work fits into global microfinance initiatives.

Through the self-training online tool, new staff of agencies working in development or staff engaged in other fields are able to expand their knowledge of microfinance as an important part of efforts to fight poverty and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Build your own capacity on Microfinance with this course!

Making rural businesses bankable in Mozambique (thanks to ELDIS)

An interesting microfinance 'plus' project in rural Mozambique- see how microfinance with additional business support, market development and business association activities is effective- this holistic approach is a core in LED policy and practice. Take a look!

Most farms and small businesses in rural Mozambique lack access to finance and operate in poorly coordinated markets. This restricts rural economic development and leaves many people trapped in poverty. The active lending approach of one financial institution, Gabinete de Consultoria e Apoio à Pequena Indústria (GAPI), is helping to address these problems.

Research from the Open University, in the UK, and the Institute of Social Studies, in the Netherlands, examines the work of GAPI, a development finance institution in Mozambique. It explores how GAPI successfully combines loans with business support services to help rural industries grow.

GAPI became one of Mozambique’s first development finance institutions in 1990. Jointly owned by a German non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the Mozambican Ministry of Planning, GAPI finances its activities through the support of aid agencies and other donors.

The development of rural production in Mozambique is constrained by a number of factors. The limited availability of credit and the lack of coordination between different stages of the supply chain are major barriers faced by farms and small- and medium-sized rural businesses.

Unlike most banks in Mozambique, GAPI focuses on lending to farms and firms based in rural areas. In 2004, 66 percent of its lending financed rural production and trade (including agriculture and agro-processing).

The main characteristics of GAPI’s lending approach are: the combination of credit with business support services (thus improving the ability of borrowers to repay), supporting the whole supply chain in which borrowers operate, and the development of partnerships with other organisations. The researchers show how this distinctive approach to lending has helped promote rural industrial development in northern Mozambique. They use two case studies: the revival of cashew nut processing and the introduction of poultry farming.

The case studies show how GAPI:

• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">supported cashew nut farmers by offering access to affordable credit and training
• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">worked with the Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA) to help farmers join together in associations, which increases their bargaining power when dealing with large traders and processors
• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">worked with a partner organisation, the American non-government organisation TechnoServe, to help farmers find export markets for their cashews
• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">worked with partner organisations to support small-scale poultry producers through training, setting up producer associations and micro loans.

The case studies show that GAPI’s active lending approach has boosted the development of two rural industries in northern Mozambique. This has helped create thousands of jobs, contributing to raising incomes and reducing poverty. It has also helped to lay the foundations for future rural industrial development.

The researchers conclude that:

• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">development finance institutions do have a role to play in poverty reduction
• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">not only can they provide credit and support to individual rural firms and farms, they can also aid the transformation of the rural economy
• http://www.eldis.org/images/dotContent.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;">to do this, financial institutions should be designed to meet the specific needs of rural industries in poor countries (not modelled on institutions in rich countries).

Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program- Ghana

15 Mar 2010 - 27 Mar 2010

Where: Ghana

http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/smdp/Ghana-main.html

development microfinance

Shared by ledna-team - 14/12/2009

Microfinance Poverty Assessment Tool

This Poverty Assessment Tool includes a multi-dimensional Poverty Index for donors and investors who require a standardized, globally applicable set of poverty indicators to make poverty-focused funding decisions and to compare MFIs across regions.

Expanding Microenterprise Credit Access

This paper reports on an impact evaluation of the credit expansion for micro-entrepreneurs in Manila, the Philippines. The paper illustrates the usefulness of having robust indicators that can distil the real impact and answer the counterfactual question ‘what would have happened without the project’ (randomized methodology).

The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation

This paper reports on a randomized evaluation of the impact of introducing microcredit in the slums of Hyderabad, India. The paper illustrates the usefulness of having robust indicators that can distil the real impact and answer the counterfactual question ‘what would have happened without the project’ (randomized methodology).

Microfinance opportunities have been successfully expanding in Ethiopia during the past fifteen years, including in remote villages, where the majority of people are engaged in smallscale agriculture, which is little supported by modern technology.

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Farmer Market Access Program, Armenia

This IFAD program in Armenia aims at providing innovative financing for rural enterprises. The program includes indicators for venture capital investment.