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We have an exciting line up of issues this year. If you would like to contribute, advertise or receive bulk copies of our 2009 issues, email Lindsay@mfinsights.com
Jul/Aug 2009 – MF and Private Equity
Sept/Oct 2009 – Profile of a Borrower
Nov/Dec 2009– The Innovation Issue
Hello from the Microfinance Insights Editorial Team!
In this ActionNote:
Preview: The July/August 2009 issue, “Private Equity and Microfinance”
Learn: About housing microfinance and the potential for social impact
Read What We’re Reading:James Tooley’s new book, “The Beautiful Tree,” reviewed in Microfinance Insights
Share: Your Thoughts on Our Blog
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PREVIEW: The Jul/Aug 2009 issue, “Private Equity and Microfinance”
A year after we explored the growing commercialization of microfinance in our July 2008 issue, “Mainstreaming: Are We Ready to Take-Off?,” we take a slightly different angle on the interaction of markets and microfinance and ask, ‘What role does private equity play in the sector?’ The financial crisis has proved microfinance’s resilience, but is that enough to secure the sector’s place as a strong asset class?
Perspectives in this issue will include:
An interview with Sumir Chadha, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital
A perspective from Legatum Ventures on why private equity is good for microfinance
Megha Jindal, of Aavishkaar Venture Management Services on the growing trend of co-investing
Howard Finklestein on the legal issues surrounding private equity investment
And highlights of the Intellecap-IAMFI Private Equity in Microfinance Survey carried out in May 2009
Interested in sharing your views on private equity in microfinance? Take our ‘Poll of the Month’ on our website. This month’s question: Will greater private equity investment boost the microfinance sector?
LEARN: About Housing Microfinance and the Potential for Social Impact
In our May/June 2008 issue “Panacea or Placebo? Evaluating the Impact of Microfinance” we carried a piece by the Monitor Group that discussed the potential social impact a new financing model can have on urban low-income housing markets. The study, based on a comprehensive report by Monitor, lays out models for the low-income market. Two of these models establish a role for the MFI as an aggregator and facilitator – identifying credit-worthy clients, and passing on their information to the financial institution (FI), sometimes even helping with the paper-work and collecting payments. While this model helps tap into an MFI’s network, it is important to ensure that goals of the MFI and the FI are well aligned. A third model suggested is operation through an amalgamated entity — one that combines the advantages of a bank or a traditional housing finance corporation (HFC) and an MFI.
READ WHAT WE’RE READING:James Tooley’s new book, “The Beautiful Tree”
In our Jan/Feb 2009 issue, we carried a piece by Professor James Tooley on private schools for the poor. Tooley’s new book, “The Beautiful Tree” challenges the popular doctrine that private schools are for the upper and middle classes, and that poor people can only afford public education. The book is a thought-provoking account of one man’s consistent belief in the idea that the poor are very capable of making their own choices. The very existence of hundreds of small schools in some of the poorest countries around the world, started by self motivated individuals, is proof that skeptics need to rethink their stance. It is a book that can change our perception of the poor and what they are capable of doing. Click here to read the complete review
Last month a few members of the Microfinance Insights team attended the Global Microfinance Investment Congress in New York. The event was attended by leading investors, MFIs, technology players, consultants and microfinance enthusiasts. Much of the debate focused on the current economic crisis and what that holds for microfinance. Read our blog post: Is Microfinance an Asset Class? However, there were several dedicated to regional case studies. Particularly interesting were the sessions on Africa and Latin America.
Tell us what you think of the discussions. Read our coverage of the event on our blog; we’d love to hear from you!
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A year after we explored the growing commercialization of microfinance in our July 2008 issue, “Mainstreaming: Are We Ready to Take-Off?,” we take a slightly different angle on the interaction of markets and microfinance and ask, ‘What role does private equity play in the sector?’ The financial crisis has proved microfinance’s resilience, but is that enough to secure the sector’s place as a strong asset class? 
In our Jan/Feb 2009 issue, we carried a piece by Professor James Tooley on private schools for the poor. Tooley’s new book, “The Beautiful Tree” challenges the popular doctrine that private schools are for the upper and middle classes, and that poor people can only afford public education. The book is a thought-provoking account of one man’s consistent belief in the idea that the poor are very capable of making their own choices. The very existence of hundreds of small schools in some of the poorest countries around the world, started by self motivated individuals, is proof that skeptics need to rethink their stance. It is a book that can change our perception of the poor and what they are capable of doing.