Microfinance without Borders

One blog at http://microfinancewithoutborders.net.

2010-02-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
I have rationalised my blogs onto one blog at http://microfinancewithoutborders.net. Being an enthusiast, I have set up three blogs and now combined all into one.
Looking forward to receiving your comments on my blog and interacting with you.
Warm regards,
Phyllis

Inclusive Growth Conclave: Rethinking Microfinance, Gurgaon, India, 29-30 Jan 2009

2009-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Inclusive Growth Conclave:
Rethinking Microfinance
January 29-30, 2009
Epicentre, Gurgaon
INDIA

Organised under ‘MySME News’ a project funded by European Commission’s ASIA INVEST II Implemented by

Summary of conference and the two-year project’s objectives
• Microfinance, originally developed as small loans for the poor, has expanded to an array of financial products such as savings, insurance, housing finance and remittance mechanisms in addition to credit. This phenomenon has also been called ‘financial inclusion’.
• If the poor are to step conclusively out of poverty they also need better livelihood opportunities, knowledge-based services and access to information. Microfinance combined with livelihood opportunities and access to information services could work better to combat poverty. This next step of adding livelihood development and ICT services to financial inclusion is here being called ‘inclusive growth’.
• Microfinance is reaching about 100 million, according to the Microcredit Summit’s stats, and reaching more people seems to be limited by several factors:
o ICT solutions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) concentrate mainly on the lending process, a small part of the services provided by MFIs
o Mobile phone banking solutions are not in place yet, resulting in little or no access to financial services for people in rural areas
• This two-year project in India and Nepal will develop tailored business news and information exchange services for the clients of microfinance i.e. the micro-entrepreneurs.
• The conference will also develop insights to understanding what other services and solutions could be conceived and business models developed to ensure that microfinance can achieve its intended impact i.e. the eradication of poverty.
Conference participants
• 29-30 Jan 2009: practitioners and policy makers from 10 countries in Asia (India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China) as well as representatives from international financial institutions. The event will gather over 150 practitioners, researchers, technical assistance providers, promoters and enthusiasts, academicians, media, technology service providers and students.
• The project implementers will also share the findings of a baseline study conducted by AC Neilsen, a reputed marketing intelligence service provider, on the information seeking patterns among microfinance clients in the Kolkata municipal area.
Just as many never dreamed that poor women in rural Bangladesh could become ‘Grameen Phone Women’ ten years ago, this conference dares to dream of a future for budding micro-entrepreneurs with access to information and other skills that help them develop new enterprises for livelihood and gain access to market information and business ideas.
Summary by Dr Phyllis SantaMaria of
Microfinance without Borders
25 January 2009

Reports from Jamii Bora Trust, Nairobi

2009-01-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

We will be filing reports from Nairobi where Microfinance without Borders is working with Jamii Bora Trust, an innovative Microfinance Institution with 200,000 members.

JBT was founded in 1999 by 50 beggars from Kibera, Africa's 2nd largest slum, and Ingrid Munro, a former UN worker. It has programmes that include

savings and credit facilities in the forms of small loans to help micro entrepreneurs improve their businesses
medical insurance for just $15 a year to cover a member and 4 dependents under the age of 18
a 2,000 house village 40 km from Nairobi that was built at 10% of the normal cost and includes shops, market place and community facilities
Lavuka, Swahili for 'sober', an AA-type programme
training for members in enterprise and credit use
training for staff

Here's a photo of Andrew Otieno, JBT Branch Manager at Toi Market, Kibera, with John and Bernard, former rebels who looted and burned down Toi Market's 1700 stall with 200 youths early in 2008 in the post-election violence in Kenya. Andrew convinced Bernard and John to stop their rebellion and to rebuild Toi Market. Today there are 3,000 stalls, John and Bernard have thriving businesses manufacturing the blue metal boxes you see behind them plus charcoal burning stoves.

As John said when I interviewed him and Bernard on 6th Nov 2008, Obama's day of election,

We couldn't believe Jamii Bora would give us a chance to get involved. We don't work for Jamii Bora, but they have given us a loan. We now have something to live for. Our lives have changed thanks to Andrew and Jamii Bora.

See video at You Tube