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Microfinance CEOs: Smart Campaign Certification is a Clear Step Toward Responsible Microfinance
As co-chairs of the Microfinance CEO Working Group, we are pleased to share with NextBillion readers this joint statement from the Working Group in support of the recently announced Smart Campaign Client Protection Certification Program. Certification will offer public recognition for institutions that meet adequate standards of care in appropriately protecting microfinance clients, as verified by an independent evaluation. It marks a clear step forward in ensuring the microfinance industry puts the treatment of its clients first.
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- Uncategorized
- Tags
- microfinance
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Measure, Crunch and Benchmark: Helping organizations advance business and social performance goals
At Grameen Foundation, we are using a mix of primary and secondary data to support decision-making in MFIs and pro-poor organizations across different regions. To illustrate this, we wanted to share an example of how we are helping an MFI better allocate its resources to increase its poverty outreach. This approach also gives the MFI a better understanding of how customers at different poverty levels are contributing to the “bottom line” of the business.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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- microfinance
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Chinese microcredit firms lend 600 bln yuan
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese microcredit companies reported 600 billion yuan (96.31 billion U.S. dollars) in outstanding loans by the end of last year, up 52 percent year on year, an association head said Tuesday.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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- microfinance
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Paying with ‘kisses’ as Brazil’s social currencies spread
Shopkeeper Heraldo Rodrigues da Silva, 55, owns a small store in Sao Benedito, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Vitoria, the capital of the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo.
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- Environment
- Region
- Latin America
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AP microfinance crisis helped Bandhan grow by over 50%
At a time when many microfinance companies are still reeling under pressure following the crisis in Andhra Pradesh about two years ago, Kolkata-based Bandhan Financial Services is planning to expand. The company plans to apply for a banking licence as and when the Reserve Bank of India comes out with the final guidelines on the subject.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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- microfinance
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The Best of 2012: Making the Most of Missteps: At Harvard Social Enterprise Conference, SKS’s Akula Opens up on Failure
Conferences usually are not the venue for owning up to failure. But on first day of the 2012 Social Enterprise Conference, Vikram Akula, the founder of SKS Microfinance who left the organization in November 2011, made just such an confession.
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- Finance
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- failure, microfinance
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Adult population access to MFBs swells by 4.6m
The number of adult population that have a microfinance bank account rose to 4.6 million or 5.2 percent in 2012 as against 3.2 million or 3.8 percent in 2010, representing 1.2 million increase, according to Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA)’s access to financial services in Nigeria 2012 survey report.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, CGAP Announce $11.4m Partnership for Branchless Banking, Client Research
The MasterCard Foundation, a Canada-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) supporting microfinance and education, and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center, recently announced a USD 11.4 million partnership to develop low-cost financial products to assist people living in poverty.
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- Uncategorized
- Tags
- microfinance
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