This month, we would like to acknowledge Net Impact for their work in bringing together individuals, organizations, and networks to leverage the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. This year their annual event will take place November 13-14, 2009 at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The 2009 Net Impact Conference will focus on the changemakers, innovators and problem solvers who are helping advance sustainable global enterprises. Click here to register.
Microfinance Insights, the leading microfinance publication, is inviting sponsor for our monthly newsletter, ActionNote. Sponsoring ActionNote allows you to reach a targeted microfinance audience every month. Click here to email us.
The Data Station
From our latest Survey we found that:
42% of MFIs polled are signatories of a voluntary microfinance code of conduct
83% of MFIs polled had standard procedures in place to avoid client over-indebtedness
94% of MFIs polled had standard procedures in place for transparent pricing
Look out for more information on MFI client servicing in our upcoming Sept/Oct issue
Did You Know?
11 new MIVs were created in 2008, 7 after Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy
US$3bn is the estimated microfinance funding gap, according to CGAP
EUR 1bn is the amount of funds that shifted back into Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) as global equity markets rose
54% of total investment in microfinance in 2008 went to South Asia
Catch Microfinance Insights at these events across the globe
Our Upcoming Sept/Oct 2009 issue, “Profile of a Borrower”
When the microfinance movement began more than thirty years ago, it addressed the needs of women in the developing world by offering simple loan products. Over the years, MFIs have not only expanded into new markets and products but also have their services to clients with different needs – the young woman who sells fruit in Abuja, the firshermen of coastal India, the small-scale industrialist in Jakarta and so on.
In the upcoming issue, Microfinance Insights takes a closer look at the microfinance borrower. Who are they? What do they borrow money for? How do they make their business judgments? What are their repayment habits?
Contributors to this issue are:
Aparna Dalal of the Financial Access Initiative delves into the nuances of behavioral economics and how that impacts product design
Robin Ratcliffe on the ACCION Client Protection Campaign.
Dean Karlan, of Yale University, who shares his thoughts on different lending models and the borrowers that benefit from each.
Results of our global industry survey on the profile of microfinance borrowers.
And more…
Make sure you are on our list when this issue comes out. Click here to subscribe to Microfinance Insights today!
PARTICIPATE
In the Microfinance Insights Photo Contest 2009
Building on last year’s success, Microfinance Insights is launching our 2nd annual photography contest. The theme of this year’s photo contest is ‘ Global Shades of Development.’
Microfinance clients represent the diversity of ideas, entrepreneurship, culture, aspirations and hopes. It is this essence that the photo contest hopes to capture.
There are 5 categories under which photographs can be submitted – color/vibrancy, emerging markets, overcoming challenges, social enterprise, and altered photos. The themes are open to individual interpretation, so let your imagination flow and try to create a unique, unseen perspective.
The last day for submissions is Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
For a complete listing of rules, regulations, submission guideline, and judes, visit the Photo Contest Website.
Click here to see the Top 10 Photos from our 2008 Photo Contest.
READ Our Interview with Sumir Chadha, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital
One of the first mainstream investors to take the plunge into microfinance was Sequoia Capital; in 2007 it invested US$11.5m in Hyderabad-based MFI SKS. The investment was seen as one of the earliest indications that microfinance could be a purely profit-driven investment. Since then, the company whose investment portfolio includes well-established corporates such as Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, and Apple Computer, made an additional investment in Ujjivan, an urban MFI based in Bangalore, India.
Microfinance Insights sat down with Sumir Chadha, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital, to learn about the motivations of the company with regards to microfinance, and the inner workings of SKS.
FEATURED EVENT Opportunity Collaboration Ixtapa, Mexico, Oct 17th – 20th, 2009
Join Microfinance Insights and our sister publication, Beyond Profit, at Opportunity Collaboration this fall!
Bringing together social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, and social change investors whose focus is poverty alleviation, Opportunity Collaboration promises to be a first-of-its-kind event. No panels, no plenary speeches. Aside from leading a workshop, we will be there to network, to learn and to find new colleagues, collaborators, and co-inspirators. In additon to our Managing Editor Lindsay Clinton, a few people and organizations we’ve covered in Microfinance Insights will be there:
– Shari Berenbach, Executive Director, Calvert Foundation – Robert Annibale, Global Director, Microfinance, Citigroup – Jeroo Billimori, Executive Director, Aflatoun Child Social & Financial Education – Sam Daley-Harris, Executive Director, Microcredit Summit Campaign – Christopher Dunford, Ph.D, President, Freedom from Hunger – William F. Foote, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Root Capital
The organizers of Opportunity Collaboration, are now blogging on Social Edge. Keep up with the latest from the event, through the Social Edge Blog. To find out more, visit Opportunity Collaboration.
When the microfinance movement began more than thirty years ago, it addressed the needs of women in the developing world by offering simple loan products. Over the years, MFIs have not only expanded into new markets and products but also have their services to clients with different needs – the young woman who sells fruit in Abuja, the firshermen of coastal India, the small-scale industrialist in Jakarta and so on. 
