NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Action Groups are gearing up for the European Microfinance Week (EMW) where they’ll gather for their annual meetings on 16 November and share their latest findings in panels organized on 17 – 18 November. In anticipation of EMW, the Microfinance & Environment Action Group and the Digital Innovations for Financial Empowerment Action Group have released the following publications:

The Green Index 2.0: An Innovative Tool to Assess Environmental Performance in the Microfinance Sector is the most recent experience based-update of the tool developed by the e-MFP Microfinance and Environment Action Group in 2014 to assess the environmental performance of MFIs. Building on results from two year’s pilot phase executed by members of e-MFP Microfinance and Environment Action Group, and in particular its implementation within the SPI4, and a dedicated joint study between e-MFP and the MIX in 2015, the Action Group has adapted the Green Index. The present version is more user-friendly, balanced and it include, for the first time, environmental quantitative indicators.

Tanzania Postal Bank: Digital Financial Inclusion Through POPOTE: Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) has tremendously pushed its financial inclusion services through TPB POPOTE (TPB-P) and through agents across the nation believing that digital finance is expected to be a major driver that will create access for the bigger number of people that have less access to financial services. The case study examines how TPB has recently leveraged 2 digital channels – Mobile Banking and Agency Banking – and 2 devices options – Mobile phone and Point of Sale (POS).