Finance Matters

Posts Tagged ‘microfinance’

Citigroup has pledged $1 million in grants to local microfinance groups across Haiti.
The money will be distributed via three microfinance providers, and will help to rebuild the country’s microfinance industry,
The industry, together with the rest of the country, was devastated by the January earthquake in Leogane.
SOGESOL, Fonkoze and FINCA Haiti will use the grant [...]

The interest rates charged on microfinance loans given to the rural and urban poor in India will soon be available online.
The decision by the newly-formed Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory body, comes after criticism of the excessive rates charged by some microfinance providers.
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India charge interest rates upward of 24%, significantly [...]

India-based SKS Microfinance has announced an initial public offering (IPO) which is expected to raise $250-$350 million in shareholder investments.
The IPO is the first by an Indian microfinance company, and has sparked a debate around the ethics of profiting from the poor.
Some argue that the IPO is necessary after microfinance firms (MFIs) reach a certain [...]

Business schools are increasingly attracting students with a social conscience, new research has found.
A poll of business schools by Bloomberg BusinessWeek found that one in five has seen an increase in the number of applicants interested in microfinance, sustainability, social enterprise, and nonprofits.
“It seems like every other [application] I look at is talking about doing [...]

Dutch pensions giant ABP has invested $30 million in a global private equity microfinance fund from Grassroots Capital.
The move brings ABP’s total holdings in microfinance debt and private equity to $215 million.
“This kind of investment is particularly suitable for a pension fund, as it aims to achieve double bottom line returns,” said Jan van Roekel, [...]