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2012 Annual Conference and the 1st African SPM Conference
from 24/09/2012 to 29/09/2012
Kampala (Uganda)
The Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN) will organize its 11th Annual Conference
and the 1st African SPM Conference in Kampala, Uganda, from September 24th to 29th, 2012
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The river of microfinance
January 24, 2012
ACP/EU MICROFINANCE LETTRE NEWSLETTER #2 | JANUARY 2012 - Microfinance is like a river. A river that flows within its banks provides life and livelihoods to all the communities it passes through. But a river that overflows
its banks can leave destruction and devastation in its wake.
Last year microfinance institutions reached 137.5 million of the world’s poorest families, according to the reports submitted to the Microcredit Summit Campaign. The number of clients reached has grown steadily since 1997, when
microfinance institutions reported reaching 7.6 million of world’s poorest. What started as a small stream in the 1970s has now turned into a mighty river.
Yet we have also seen the river overrun its banks in some places. Markets in Bosnia, Pakistan and Morocco have both gone through repayment crises fueled by rapid growth of MFIs, market saturation and the erosion of lending disciplines.
Last year in Andhra Pradesh over-lending and harsh collection practices led to strict controls from the state government that have virtually closed the microfinance
market in that state, collapsing a source of finance for more than 6 million families.
A strong river needs firm banks that can control the force of the flow. At the Microcredit Summit we share ACP/EU MICROFINANCE’s concerns and have joined the Smart Campaign Principles for Client Protection and are working
with the Social Performance Task Force to develop universal standards for socialperformance. We are also working with others to develop the Seal of Excellence
for Poverty Outreach and Transformation in Microfinance. Working together on these initiatives we can build strong banks for the river of microfinance, harnessing
its power in ways that enable millions of families to lift themselves out of poverty.
Larry Reed
Director, Microcredit Summit
OTHER NEWS
- The river of microfinance
- What the world can learn from the Indian microfinance crisis?
- Mauritanian youths launch microfinance fund
- Liberia : CBL Launches L$200m Loan Extension Assistance Facility
- Nigeria: Fortis Mobile Money signs MoU with NAMBLAG
- Careful New Review of Randomized Trials of Microfinance
- Gold Backed Loans: Unlocking Liquidity for the Poor?
- The SEEP Network and MIX Present A Conversation on Financial Inclusion in Africa with Audrey Lintho
- Nigeria: CBN Initiates Bills To Improve Payment System
- 137 Million of World’s Poorest Received a Microloan in 2010
