Recent Blogs
Blog
Commercialization of Microfinance
The topic of commercialization has been hotly debated, largely because it raises fundamental questions about whether the dual social and financial missions of microfinance can coexist.Blog
Pakistan: a Laboratory for Innovation in Branchless Banking
We are excited about the developments that we’re seeing in branchless banking in Pakistan, which have led us to call it a “laboratory” for innovation.Blog
Arab Spring: The Alexandria Business Association
The revolution in Egypt was a chance for the Egyptian people to get back the freedom and pride that were lost for a long time.Blog
Technologies for Financial Inclusion: Looking to the Past
In microfinance, technology clearly has great potential to improve service at a lower cost to more customers. But in the area of financial inclusion, there still have not been great leaps in the use of technologies similar to what has happened in everyday life.Blog
Overview of the G2P Payments Sector in India
We often write on this blog about the potential to link government-to-person (G2P) payments to financial services. We also closely follow branchless banking developments in India and have recently shared our take on the market. So imagine our excitement when we can talk about both together!Blog
Funders' Role in Providing Investment and Advisory Services
Overall IFC’s strategy is driven by its desire to extend reach and its understanding that to do so we need to give full consideration to complex ecosystems which must hold a value proposition for all players involved.Blog
“Four C’s” for Expanding Rural Microfinance
You cannot ask everything of microfinance institutions. This is doubly true in rural areas. Institutions that enter rural areas on their own are less likely to succeed than those that form partnerships with technical assistance and educational organizations, suppliers of inputs, etc.Blog
MFIs Should Do Responsible Finance
Responsible finance is not just the responsibility of the MFIs. Other stakeholders have a role to play. These stakeholders should exhibit the same virtues that they demand of MFIs.Blog
Microfinance and the Arab Spring
Since the beginning of 2011, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests have been taking place in the Arab world. These events have created some challenges and opportunities for the microfinance sector and the financial inclusion agenda in the region.Blog
Moving Beyond Micro: Women-Owned Businesses
The profile of a woman business owner in Latin America and the Caribbean is as diverse as the factors on which her success hinges, yet the vast majority are microenterprises by necessity, not by preference, in informal service sectors.Blog
The Next Breakthrough in Financial Services in India
The new service, like other mobile and agent banking services, including the successful Kenyan mobile money transfer service M-PESA , is intended to enable people to carry out microtransactions safely and conveniently.Blog
Over-Indebtedness in Microcredit
Recently, MIX has explored portfolio quality problems around the world, a common proxy to measure overindebtedness, and various relevant patterns emerge for the discussion of over-indebtedness in Latin America and around the world.Blog
Waiting in Line…Where’s My Agent? Headlines and Highlights
I’m blogging from Dakar, Senegal where I had a stark reminder of why innovation in financial services is so necessary.Blog
Consumer Protection? Ask the Consumer
The main objective of the diagnostic study undertaken in Senegal in early 2011 was to develop a better understanding of microfinance clients’ protection and suggest possible improvements.Blog
The Role of Government in Mobile Financial Services
How can governments effectively support mobile financial services (MFS) expansion?Blog
Making Finance More Responsible
If you ask social investors whether responsible finance should be the “new normal” in microfinance, the answer is always yes.Blog
Banks Have Some Good News…Are They Listening?
CGAP, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and Akya, a banking consultancy, recently completed some analysis on the business case for banks in branchless banking.Blog
CGAP and Microfinance Investors: New Questions and Role
MIVs constitute the largest group of MIIs. MIV investment levels quadrupled between 2006 and 2008, and today, according to Symbiotics and MicroRate 2011 MIV surveys, more than 100 MIVs manage total assets of around US$7 billion.Blog
Client Protection: Are We There Yet?
Since its launch, the Smart Campaign has made enormous strides toward ensuring that clients of microfinance would receive transparent, respectful, and prudent treatment.Blog