Carlos Danel, founder and Co-CEO of Compartamos, speaks about the link between the growth story and the issue of pricing or the interest rate policy.
Carlos Danel, Founder and Co-CEO of Compartamos, speaks about the factors that enabled the MFI to become the regional industry leader and to provide financial services to more than one million poor women in the rural areas of Mexico.
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, speaks about the spectacular success and controversy around the IPO of Compartamos, one of the leading MFIs in Latin America.
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, speaks about the spectacular success and controversy around the IPO of Compartamos, one of the leading MFIs in Latin America.
Provided by MicroSave The role of technology in financial inclusion and in making financial transactions secured has been well proven. MicroSave is working with M-Banking promoting MFIs, to pilot test electronic options, which are totally market-led solutions for financial services. The focus has been to understand the client's priorities in terms of client interface with the electronic option and the value proposition that clients look for in these alternative channels of delivery. These videos...
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, speaks about the spectacular success and controversy around the IPO of Compartamos, one of the leading MFIs in Latin America.
Renee Chao-Beroff, Director, Microfinance Department, CIDR; General Manager, Pamiga gives an overview of the ways in which rural markets are segmented and how financial intermediaries can develop appropriate products and delivery mechanisms to navigate the risks of agricultural and rural lending.
Renee Chao-Beroff, Director, Microfinance Department, CIDR; General Manager, Pamiga explains how agricultural microfinance has developed despite the challenges that it faces. New actors, new opportunities and new behavious in the rural areas have a profound impact on poor people's access to finance.
Richard L. Meyer is Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University with experience in microfinance, rural financial markets and rural nonfarm and microenterprises in developing countries. He has worked extensively on international projects, including long-term residence in Brazil and Thailand, where he served as Chief of Party for USAID projects. Richard Meyer speaks about challenges and implementation practices of agricultural finance.
Richard L. Meyer is Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University with experience in microfinance, rural financial markets and rural nonfarm and microenterprises in developing countries. He has worked extensively on international projects, including long-term residence in Brazil and Thailand, where he served as Chief of Party for USAID projects. Richard Meyer speaks about challenges and implementation practices of agricultural finance.
Roshaneh Zafar, Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Pakistan speaks about the economic and regulatory framework for microfinance in Pakistan. She also shares her views on the impact of the financial sector and food crises on microfinance clients in Pakistan.
Roshaneh Zafar, Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Pakistan speaks about the implementation of the deposit mobilization strategy that Kashf has put into place. She explains the role of the technology in microfinance and how Kashf has employed technological innovations for the benefit of their clients.
Roshaneh Zafar, Managing Director of Kashf Foundation and the founder of Kashf Bank, one of the leaders of microfinance in Pakistan, speaks about the challenges of reaching female borrowers in one of the largest and most challenging markets in the world. She shares her views on the importance of mobilizing deposits from microfinance customers.
India Focus Note #13 Author: Madhurantika Moulick This focus note explains the importance of savings services for the clients in the north east region of India and brings forth the finding that poor do save, and loose their savings in the absence of any formal source. It mulls over on savings mechanisms adopted by the poor some of which are—formal—not as per people’s needs, semi formal such as through SHGs and MFIs and then informal mechanisms such as savings at home, with NBFCs, ROSCAs, and ASC...
India Focus Note # 21. Authors: Abhijit Sharma, Brett Hudson Mathews Villagers in Lower Assam are pioneers on the frontiers of informal finance, according to the results of recent field work conducted by the Indian Institute of Bank Management. This note provides an overview of the village financial systems in Northeast India, highlighting the flexibility and the multiple needs met by these Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ASCA).
Authors: Nthenya Mule, Susan Johnson, Robert Hickson & Wambui Mwangi Examines the managed ASCAs operating in Central Province of Kenya. These ASCAs run on the basis of their own members’ savings as capital and pay a fee for management services provided by an MFI. The study examines the strengths and weaknesses of this alternative approach to supporting financial services for the poor.
Hugh Allen, Founder of VSL Associates, Ltd., talks about emerging issues in community managed microfinance, about the regions, where this methodology works the best, and about the risks we face as community managed microfinance moves forward.
Hugh Allen, Founder of VSL Associates, Ltd., talks about a typical community managed microfinance institution, and the common arguments against these kind of programs.
Michael Tarazi, Senior Policy Specialist, CGAP speaks about successful branchless banking projects, the major obstacles for branchless banking, the role of regulators in rolling out branchless banking solutions, and the CGAP contribution in the area of branchless banking. MFP is grateful to the Boulder Institute of Microfinance and the International Training Center of the ILO, (Turin, Italy) for providing logistical support and the location for this interview.
Marguerite Robinson, a long-term adviser to BRI, talks about one of the most successful microfinance providers in the world.
Author: Gerhard Coetzee, Kamau Kabbucho, Andrew Mnjama This study report starts with Equity Bank’s market and how that translates into a product range and delivery system. It also addresses the issues related to the ownership and governance of the organisation. It further surges ahead in various aspects of management, as the governance level directs and focuses the institution while the management level is needed for implementation. It also measures the management and institutional performance o...
Author: Gerhard Coetzee, Kamau Kabbucho, Andrew Njema Equity serves some customers that live and work in remote rural areas, through a network of rural branches and through a system of mobile banks. In addition to providing services the mobile banking units are used for public relations and marketing purposes. Whilst banks such as Barclays and Kenya Commercial Bank closed their mobile services, Equity is rapidly expanding its mobile services. This paper explains the structure of each of the mobi...
Author: Graham A.N. Wright, David Cracknell Today Equity Bank is a remarkable institution. But in 1993, the Central Bank of Kenya confirmed that, as Equity Building Society, it was technically insolvent and had poor board supervision and inadequate management. Non-performing loans were 54% of the portfolio, and accumulated losses totalled KSh.33 million against a paid-up capital of KSh.3 million. Equity’s liquidity ratio stood at 5.8%, far below the required 20%.This paper documents the history ...
Marguerite Robinson, a frequent adviser to Equity Bank, gives her views of the Equity Bank success story. She describes the roles of staff and management and explores the contribution of MicroSave.
Interview with Marguerite Robinson on the role of savings in microfinance. Dr. Robinson has worked extensively in Asia, in rural and tribal areas and among the urban poor. She served for many years as adviser to the Indonesian Ministry of Finance and to Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) on the development of BRI's microbanking system-now the largest financially self-sufficient microfinance system in the world. She also works in other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, advising governments, ...
Author: David Cracknell, Graham A.N. Wright Today Equity Bank is a remarkable institution. It has become the most highly capitalised bank in Kenya with total shareholders funds of more than $250 million as of March 2008, serving more than 2 million customers, through 76 branches and more than 350 ATMs. But in 1993, the Central Bank of Kenya confirmed that, as Equity Building Society, it was technically insolvent, had poor board supervision and inadequate management. This note outlines the succes...
Interview with james Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank, Kenya, on client protection, youth programs, and the future of Equity Bank.
Interview with Dr. James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank, Kenya, on financial crisis and the role of savings.
Interview with Dr. James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank, Kenya, Dr James Mwangi talks about the main drivers and challenges of rapid growth, the role that MicroSave played in the development of the bank, and the mistakes made and lessons learned over the past 16 years.
Interview with Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO, CGAP on financial crisis impact om MFIs and their clients.
