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Topic: Microfinance

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	Microfinance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Microfinance is a term used to refer to the activity of provision of financial services to clients who are excluded from the traditional financial system on account of their lower economic status.
		Microfinance schemes were not developed by international aid agencies or NGOs.
		Microfinance and the Environment - several articles on the effect of microfinance on the environment, sanitation and water.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Microfinance (2355 words)

	Microcredit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of financial services to the very poor; apart from loans, it includes savings, microinsurance and other financial innovations.
		Some new microfinance focused-organizations, see for instance the Development Innovations Group (DIG),have embraced this more expanded vision of microfinance and speak of financial services for the poor or of development finance, rather than of microfinance.
		Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) NGO specialised in microfinance.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Microcredit (4428 words)

	Microfinance - ADB.org (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-02)
		Microfinance plays a significant role in ADB's overarching goal to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific.
		Providing access to microfinance can prove to be an effective way of reaching the poor -- and improving their lives.
		Microfinance institutions are institutions whose major business is the provision of microfinance services.
	www.adb.org /Microfinance/default.asp (192 words)

	MICROFINANCE MATTERS - Does Microfinance Make a Difference
		Nonetheless, the scarcity of data or the difficulty of undertaking comparative studies on the impact of microfinance in alleviating poverty should not be an excuse to neglect the impact evaluation of specific microfinance programmes.
		Although the impact of microfinance varied in all countries in terms of its nature and magnitude, findings strongly suggest that overall, access to financial services is associated with improvements of social and economic welfare of low-income households.
		Policymakers, microfinance institutions and the donor community can gain a better sense of the direction they need to take and how they should collaborate to reach a greater number of people through the design of better products and services, and the promotion and establishment of an environment conducive to the growth of the microfinance sector.
	www.uncdf.org /english/microfinance/newsletter/pages/may_2004/news_social_impact.php (1337 words)

	MicroCapital: On Microfinance and Microcredit Investment
		Financial services are provided by "microfinance institutions" (MFIs) or "microlenders", generic terms for the estimated 10,000 diverse entities such as commercial banks, NGOs, credit unions, finance companies etc. These services include providing business and housing loans, insurance, pensions, and deposits.
		The commercialization of microfinance is gaining momentum as non-profit charities convert into regulated financial institutions.
		Nonetheless, an estimated 90% of the (non-deposit) capitalization in microfinance is public funding in origin, although often filtered through a private intermediary.
	www.microcapital.org /WhatWhyHowBlog.htm (411 words)

	Digital Dividend : Publications & Analysis : Other
		The majority of these microfinance organizations are donor funded, which is an obstacle to their scalability and sustainability.
		The Microfinance Gateway is a public forum for the microfinance industry at large that offers a wealth of tailored services for microfinance professionals, including resource centers on specific topics in microfinance, a searchable library of electronic documents, a consultant database, a jobs listing service, and specialized discussion groups.
		The Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP) is a consortium of 29 bilateral and multilateral donor agencies who serve microfinance institutions, donors, and the microfinance industry through the development of technical tools and services, the delivery of training, strategic advice and technical assistance, and action research on innovations.
	www.digitaldividend.org /pubs/pubs_05_overview_microfinance.htm (2056 words)

	Microfinance \| International Year of Microcredit 2005
		Through microfinance, poor people with microenterprises are able to secure small loans to provide them the means to create more products, improve their services, expand their market, and ultimately increase their income and economic activities.
		Microfinance is defined as the provision of a broad range of financial services targeted to low-income clients.
		The United Nations has recognized the potential of microfinance as one of the effective tools to meet the UN’s millenium development goal of reducing by 50% the incidence of poverty worldwide by the year 2015.
	www.microfinance.com.ph (459 words)

	Microfinance - The MIX Market - Overview
		To most, microfinance means providing very poor families with very small loans (microcredit) to help them engage in productive activities or grow their tiny businesses.
		Over time, microfinance has come to include a broader range of services (credit, savings, insurance, etc.) as we have come to realize that the poor and the very poor who lack access to traditional formal financial institutions require a variety of financial products.
		Many feel that the most important role of a financial regulator in supporting the development of microfinance is to create an alternative institutional type that allows sound financial NGOs, credit unions, and other community-based intermediaries to obtain a license to offer deposit services to the general public and obtain funds through apex organizations.
	www.mixmarket.org /en/overview.asp (496 words)

	Microfinance and Microcredit
		The Special Unit for Microfinance is a collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Capital Development Fund to enhance the private sector in developing countries and create mechanisms for the provision of credit to the poor.
		Its objectives are the promotion of self-employment, microentreprises and microfinance in Europe, the development of best practices, and the improvement of the regulatory framework of microfinance and self-employment in the European Union and its member states.
		Microfin is a software which has been designed to assist Micro Finance Institutions in developing detailed financial projections to accompany their business plans.
	www.enterweb.org /microcre.htm (3758 words)

	Financial Women's Association - Microfinance
		As a result, over time, microfinance has come to include a broader range of services (credit, savings, insurance, etc.) as the industry has come to realize that the poor and the very poor who lack access to traditional formal financial institutions require a variety of financial products.
		In urban areas, microfinance activities are more diverse and include shopkeepers, service providers, artisans, street vendors, etc. Microfinance clients are poor and vulnerable non-poor who have a relatively stable source of income.
		Microfinance brings the power of credit to the grassroots by way of loans to the poor, without requirement of collateral or previous credit record.
	www.fwa.org /community/microfinance.htm (1351 words)

	United Nations Capital Development Fund
		UNCDF has identified microfinance as an effective means of contributing on a sustainable basis to poverty reduction and the achievement of the Commitments of the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and the Millennium Development Goals.
		Looking at the overall results of the Microfinance Practice Area during the 2001 – 2005 period, these results were produced through a combination of institutional investments by UNCDF and its partners in leading financial service providers in West Africa and the initial results of the sector development approach for inclusive finance in Sierra Leone.
		The Year was established to assess and promote the contributions of microcredit and microfinance to the MDGs; to increase public awareness and understanding of microcredit and microfinance; to support sustainable access to financial services; and to encourage and establish innovation and partnerships among the many institutions participating in microfinance activities.
	www.uncdf.org /english/microfinance (1472 words)

	Microfinance - Empowering the world's poorest people
		Microfinance is often considered one of the most effective, flexible, and sustainable strategies in the fight against global poverty.
		Microfinance consists of making small loans, usually less than $200, to individuals, usually women, to establish or expand a small, self-sustaining business.
		Microfinance is capable of growing large enough to be available to serve all of the world's poor.
	www.squidoo.com /microfinance (974 words)

	FAO: SD : People : A Guide to gender-sensitive microfinance
		Microfinance as a discipline emerged when evidence showed that low-income people can be credit-worthy and can save money, provided they are able to access tailored financial services.
		The guide is designed to be a reference point to ensure that microfinance activities reach their intended socio-economic target group and it is of relevance to any context where microfinance activities are proposed to improve social and economic development.
		Although impact analyses of microfinance on micro-entrepreneurs, and implicitly on women, are still scarce, women may increase their share of work in the household when they undertake an additional income-generating activity.
	www.fao.org /sd/2002/PE0401a_en.htm (5872 words)

	Unitus. Innovative Solutions to Global Poverty
		History — Microfinance emerged in the 1970s as social innovators began to offer financial services to the working poor — those who were previously considered “un-bankable” because of their lack of collateral.
		Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are now innovating to help meet these needs, empowering the world’s poor to improve their own lives.
		One should note that although MFIs may charge rates of 30 to 70 percent to cover their costs, these interest rates are still significantly lower than the 300 percent to 3,000 percent annual rates that many borrowers were previously paying to money lenders, and are typical of the local credit card interest rates.
	www.unitus.com /wwd_whatismf.asp (1022 words)

	Microfinance in Uzbekistan
		UNDP has played substantial role and is continuing to play in the process of microfinance sector development in Uzbekistan, particularly, as a result of supporting pilot microcredit projects first in Uzbekistan's practice new successful microcredit schemes for the low income people were introduced.
		The aim of this project was to contribute to increasing income of the low-income families via continuing and expanding microcredit schemes, accompanied by corresponding efforts on developing capacity of non-governmental organizations capable of continuing microcrediting activity independently as well as creating enabling environment for micro-enterprise development in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
		As a result staff skills and capacities of BWAs' and other microfinance organizations substantially strengthened, their staff members received skills on main principles of microfinance, established dialog between microfinance organizations of Uzbekistan on developing legal basis and its promotion; established horizontal links between microfinance organizations in Uzbekistan.
	www.microfinance.uz /microfinance.php?article=89&lng=1 (1558 words)

	About us : Microfinance - Grameen Foundation USA
		Microfinance is often considered one of the most effective and flexible strategies in the fight against global poverty.
		An equally important part of microfinance is the recycling of funds.
		The vast majority of the loans go to women because studies have shown that women are more likely to reinvest their earnings in the business and in their families.
	www.grameenfoundation.org /about_us/microfinance (315 words)

	Microfinance \| Catholic Relief Services (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-02)
		CRS' Microfinance Principles are to serve the poorest clients; link loans to savings; use solidarity guarantees; practice participatory management; invest up-front in scale and self-sufficiency; and plan for permanence.
		CRS is among the major players in the microfinance world with a network of 17 country programs supporting formal microfinance institutions (MFIs), 4 country programs with formal wholesale MFIs, 6 country programs supporting informal microfinance programs including savings based community initiatives, and 2 country programs with regional learning centers.
		For over 16 years, CRS microfinance interventions have been instrumental in narrowing the gap that excludes poor families from services that are integral to human development.
	crs.org /our_work/what_we_do/programming_areas/microfinance/index.cfm (778 words)

	The Netherland Platform for Microfinance
		Microfinance is a unique tool to fight poverty, based on the experience that poor people are capable to take control over their own lives.
		The Netherlands Platform for Microfinance consists of 15 Dutch organisations that work together to improve the effectiveness of their microfinance activities.
		NPM voorzitter neemt eerste exemplaar in ontvangst van Mutualist Microfinance.
	www.microfinance.nl (170 words)

	About ProMiS (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-02)
		Microfinance service providers can be found within a wide range of institutions, from finance companies, cooperatives, international and local NGOs, to commercial and development banks.
		The poor quality of microfinance services in Sri Lanka is indicated by insufficient outreach, low repayment, low cost efficiency and financial products which are not client driven.
		The framework conditions for the microfinance sector meet the requirements of regional standards (measured according to the criteria set by the ADB study entitled Commercialization of Microfinance — Sri Lanka).
	www.microfinance.lk /About_ProMiS/about_promis.htm (650 words)

	Centre for Microfinance
		The objective of the Centre is to build management capacity in microfinance and more generally, to improve the banking and general microfinance knowledge in microfinance institutions.
		The Centre is supported by the Microfinance Management Institute (MMI), which in turn is financed and supported by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), an institution formed by a collection of donors, as well as the Open Society Institute (OSI), financed by international financier, George Soros.
		South Africa has the biggest microfinance market in the sub-Saharan region and although it is recognized that microfinance plays a major role in creating inclusive financial markets, there are several constraints inhibiting these markets to function properly.
	www.microfinance.up.ac.za (589 words)

	Microfinance Services Pty Ltd
		Microfinance Services is an international consulting firm providing specialised consulting services in the field of microfinance and microenterprise.
		Microfinance Services aims to assist international development agencies and their partners to improve access of poor and very poor households, in developing countries, to financial services which are flexible, useful and which are financially and institutionally sustainable.
		Microfinance Services provides innovative and highly practical microfinance consulting services that are underscored by a detailed understanding of our clients' operating environment and organizational capacities.
	www.microfinanceservices.com (373 words)

	Naropa University - The Microfinance Training Program (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-02)
		Naropa University would like to inform all interested parties that the 2005 Microfinance Training Program, previously scheduled to take place in Boulder, Colorado, has instead been relocated to the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy for the summer of 2005.
		The organization and management of the MFT program is evolving in response to changing economic and political circumstances requiring greater flexibility in its structure and operation.
		We have immensely enjoyed the opportunity to serve the microfinance community and to facilitate the process of providing financial services to the world’s poor.
	www.naropa.edu /microfinance (276 words)

	Microfinance Opportunities (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-02)
		Established in 2002 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we seek to facilitate an improvement in poor people’s lives by increasing their access to well-designed and well-delivered financial services.
		The Financial Education for the Poor Project was recognized as a Citigroup commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative at a mid-year meeting hosted by Bill Clinton on March 31, 2006.
		Microfinance Opportunities is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
	www.microfinanceopportunities.org /index.shtml (174 words)

	Citigroup
		Citigroup’s involvement in microfinance began in 1965 with a $5,000 grant.
		Our commitment to microfinance enables us to do what we do best, that is, create opportunity for institutions and individuals by using our global reach and local expertise to expand access to financial services.
		The ADS microfinance program was begun in 1999 to meet the needs of microentrepreneurs who are not eligible for the government’s microenterprise/small-medium enterprise scheme and do not have access to mainstream credit lines.
	www.citigroup.com /citigroup/citizen/microfinance/index.htm (1425 words)

	Microfinance in Uzbekistan
		Action Plan includes carrying out activities aimed at supporting of the government's efforts towards microfinance sector sustainable development; assessment of the sector, development of the report based on relevant research, development of drafts of legislative documents, launch of the web-site on microfinance issues, conducting training programmes and publication of a manual.
		Microfinance not enough for rural financial development, says new ADB book.
		The document is a Law on Microfinance that is approved by the Legislative chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and is under consideration with the Senate, the upper house of Oliy Majlis.
	www.microfinance.uz (724 words)

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