Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh and ASA recently signed a credit facility agreement for microfinance portfolio expansion in rural Bangladesh. According to this agreement, Citibank will provide USD 10 million in equivalent local currency to ASA, one of the world’s leading Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, Founder and President of ASA and Mamun Rashid, Managing Director and Citi Country Officer, Bangladesh signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. The financing will allow ASA, to diversify its funding sources and also disburse more funds to a larger number of micro entrepreneurs, reinforcing ASA’s determination in helping the development of the micro-credit sector. More…

Presidential Management Staff Secretary Cerge Remonde said the government has P80 billion available for microfinance programs this year and is in need of partners for its dispersal. Remonde was in Bacolod with Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez and Noel Poso, vice president of the People’s Credit and Finance Corp., to talk about microfinance opportunities and entrepreneurship with the Citizens Movement for Good Government, a local group. More…

September 18th-20th, 2008
University of Bergamo – Italy
Registration Fee:  € 400 Euros 

The Boulder Institute of Microfinance in partnership with the University of Bergamo has designed a forum to bring together leading academic researchers with a group of key policy makers who guide government programs.  We want to bring the best current research to the table and have the type of dialogue that shapes the direction of future inquiry in a way that that is most relevant to decision makers.  The primary purpose of this inaugural conference is to shorten the cycle between ideas, innovations, rigorous research, and its practical applications on policies, with the final goal of expanding the delivery and access of financial services  to poor people.  This year’s conference focuses on the special challenges of delivering and expanding the frontier for rural finance and is supported by the Rural Finance Program at The Ohio State University. More…

Islamabad, Pakistan, May 26, 2008—In cooperation with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the State Bank of Pakistan has successfully completed a mortgage training program for local bankers to help build their capacity and improve housing finance services to low- and middle-income people.  More…

NEW YORK, May 19, 2008 At the initiative of Deutsche Bank, The Boulder Institute, and CGAP, leaders of microfinance institutions, investors, banks and development agencies gathered in New York to develop a common ground and set of principles that would help microfinance navigate between commercialization and its social mission. The Pocantico Declaration is the first step toward a code of conduct that could distinguish microfinance from other providers of financial services who lack the social motivation that drives the microfinance industry. More… 

The ADB newsletter features articles and news relating to microfinance activities in Asia and the Pacific. The latest edition features two interesting articles. The first article by Arup Chatterjee the Principal Administrator of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors focuses on the challenges encountered in developing enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for microinsurance. The second article written by Jamie Bedson, The Foundation for Development Cooperation’s Asia Regional Representative, examines microfinance partnerships. More…

Centre for Self-help Development (CSD), a Financial Intermediary Non Government Organization (FINGO), provides an update on their microfinance program that has been implemented in the hill districts Arghakhanchi and Dhading in Nepal. More…

Banking with the Poor Network would like to congratulate ASA for winning the Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid category of the 2008 Financial Times Banking Awards. More…

BWTP would like to congratulate all of our members that were listed in the recently released 2007 Mix Asia 100 report. The report ranked MFIs in nine categories which include: number of borrowers, number of depositors, scale, market penetration, growth, profitability, efficiency, productivity and portfolio quality. A copy of the complete report is available here.

Members listed in the report include: BRI, DIMAN, ASKI, KMBI, TSPI, VBSP, ASA, BEES, Sajida, Shakti,  Bandhan, BWDA, CSD, FMFB -  Pakistan, SAFWCO, Lak Jaya, SEEDS and Sewa Finance. 

In the wake of the recent devastating earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province and the cyclone in Myanmar, the BWTP Network and Citi would like to highlight the availability of the Microfinance and Disaster Management Training Manual which may be of use to organisations facing the prospect of natural disasters.

The Microfinance and Disaster Management Training Manual is part of a capacity-building program funded by the Citi Foundation which is designed to help microfinance institutions develop strategies for disaster preparedness, and to respond more effectively in the wake of a natural disaster.

These resources can be accessed and used free of charge via the BWTP website. BWTP seeks to monitor the use of the resources, so we ask that you register your details. The resources are currently available in six languages, including (simplified) Chinese.
 
The Microfinance and Disaster Management Website is available via the “Training Resources” link at: http://www.bwtp.org/microfinance-and-disaster-management.html