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Rob Katz, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Drawn by their corporate responsibility agendas and the promise of profitability, commercial banks have been entering the microfinance market, with Credit Agricole and JPMorgan among recent entrants. But when it comes to serving the 4bn people living on less than $2 a day, traditional microfinance models are not the only means...
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Jun 09, 2008
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Rob Katz, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Rafael Llosa's company has been lending money to some of the poorest people in Peru for 30 years. It used to be a fairly lonely endeavor. Giving tiny loans to impoverished women to make ceramics or to farmers to buy milk cows was hardly seen as a great business. Except that...
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Jun 09, 2008
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Rob Katz, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Banco Compartamos, the largest microfinance institution in Mexico, is the acknowledged poster child for commercial microfinance institutions (MFIs). From its inception in 1990 until 2000, Compartamos operated as a not-for-profit nongovernmental organization (NGO), receiving $4.3 million from international development agencies and private Mexican donors. In 2000, the organization was reaching 60,000...
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Jun 09, 2008
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Derek Newberry, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Citibank, NA Bangladesh and ASA yesterday signed a credit facility agreement for microfinance portfolio expansion in rural Bangladesh, says a press release. As per the agreement, Citibank will provide US$ 10 million in equivalent local currency to ASA, one of the world's leading Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury,...
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Jun 06, 2008
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David Lehr, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
A recent Forbes publication, " Microfinance Fights Growing Pains ," examined the rapid growth and associated challenges of the microfinance field. As noted in the article (and thanks to Vital Wave Consulting for highlighting this), the explosion of new entrants and the overall rapid growth of microfinance may be creating an...
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May 22, 2008
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Derek Newberry, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Matt Flannery , cofounder of Kiva.org , a website that partners with microfinance institutions to allow people to loan money to entrepreneurs in the developing world, discusses the microfinance industry and its growing popularity among large financial institutions and the development community. He says the practice of providing financial services to...
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May 01, 2008
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Francisco Noguera, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Omidyar Network and Unitus are pleased to announce plans to dramatically expand the worldwide availability of financial services to the poor. Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm established by Pierre and Pam Omidyar, will invest $9 million in Unitus. This will represent Omidyar Network's largest grant in microfinance to date. Unitus,...
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Apr 28, 2008
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Grace Augustine, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
It is impossible to argue against the need for reliable energy at the BoP. Energy drives every facet of society, from nourishment to communication. According to the UNDP , at least 1.2 billion people suffer from energy poverty, which has profound impact on health, education, and livelihoods. Increasingly, people are calling...
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Apr 18, 2008
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Rob Katz, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Today in New York, I had the pleasure of attending a round table organized by the Council on Foreign Relations entitled The Commercialization of Microfinance: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly . Moderated by CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman , the discussion featured comments from Mary Ellen Iskenderian (of Women's...
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Apr 17, 2008
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Francisco Noguera, NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Microfinance
Guest blogger Lauren Withey is a research assistant for the World Resources Report at the World Resources Institute, in Washington D.C. By Lauren Withey It used to be that most U.S. college graduates, perhaps after spending a few years testing their penchants for various occupations or getting a second degree, would...
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Apr 16, 2008
