Symbiotics NewsWatch #169, 26 July 2011

Jul. 24	Five Lessons for the Microfinance Industry Microfinance is going through a crisis. The industry that gives small uncollateralized loans, often to women for entrepreneurial activities in developing countries, is booming but has been damaged by a slew of negative events. Source: The Wall Street Journal Blog
Jul. 24	India: Microfinance Bill Answers Most Questions The Government of India promised a new draft microfinance legislation, and it has delivered. The consultative process adopted, the work done by the Malegam Committee, and the regulations issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the participation of the lenders, practitioners and others have made the draft comprehensive and well-rounded. Source: CGAP Microfinance Blog
Jul. 21	Africa’s First Microfinance Fund For Sustainable Farmers Launched Africa’s first specialist rural microfinance fund supporting fair trade and organic small business, FEFISOL, the European Solidarity Financing Fund for Africa, was launched earlier today by the European Investment Bank, Agence Française de Développement and a broad grouping of development bodies, social investors and microfinance service providers. Source: IEWY News
Jul. 20	The Smart Campaign Adds Seventh Client Protection Principle The microfinance industry’s Client Protection Principles (CPPs) are now seven. They have been expanded to address multiple financial products and the concept of “non-discrimination.” Source: Center for Financial Inclusion
Jul. 20	AfDB Launches Microfinance Capacity Building Fund The African Development Bank Group (AfDB), in partnership with the Government of Spain, yesterday launched the Microfinance Capacity Building Fund for Africa. Its purpose is to help strengthen capacity building efforts in the financial sector that benefit poor and low-income populations in the continent, particularly women and those living in rural areas. Source: African Development Bank Group
Jul. 19	Microfinance in Kolar, Karnataka, Revisited: New Client Survey Data Events of 2009 in the Kolar district in Karnataka, a state in southern India, offer a valuable case study for the microfinance sector because they show the complex intersection between cultural and social factors and household financial decisions. Kolar, famous for its silk industry, is a small town which witnessed mass defaults after a local organization banned MFIs from operating in the area. Source: CGAP