Symbiotics NewsWatch #180, 11 October 2011

Oct. 11	Kyrgyzstan: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provides Loan to Frontiers MLC for Cross-Border Microfinancing The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting its support to the financial sector in the Kyrgyz Republic with a USD 2 million loan in local currency (Som) to the micro-lending company Frontiers LLC. Source: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Oct. 11	Latin America tops Global Microscope Index on the Microfinance Business Environment 2011 This annual study ranks the business environment for microfinance in 55 countries and provides a perspective on both country-specific and global trends. The results show that Peru and Bolivia have the best environments for microfinance in global ranking Source: Inter-American Development Bank
Oct. 08	New Ways to Borrow: Shark bait Most people think of developing countries when they hear the term “microfinance”. Not so a growing number of the 1.14 million low-income households (4% of Britain’s total) that lack bank accounts, nor the additional 8 million people (15% of the population) who are “underbanked”— excluded from mainstream bank lending and credit cards, both of which are increasingly stingy, because of bad credit scores or irregular incomes. Source: The Economist
Oct. 07	Armenia: Germans Give USD 10 Million for Small and Medium sized Enterprises Development Armenian microfinance bank Inecobank is set to receive a loan of USD 10 million through a joint agreement with German development finance institution Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG) and Austrian development bank Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB) in an effort to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Armenia. Source: hetq online
Oct. 05	Four new Microfinance Investment Vehicles obtain the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label LuxFLAG is pleased to announce that 4 new Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs) have been granted the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label: the Microfinance Enhancement Facility S.A.SICAV-SIF, Selectum SICAV SIF - BL Microfinance, Etimos Fund SICAV-SIF and Dual Return Fund SICAV- SIF Vision Microfinance Local Currency. Source: The Luxembourg Bankers' Association
Oct. 04	The Microfinance Catalyst So-called “impact investors” – providers of capital to businesses that solve social challenges while generating a profit – are the current rage in economic development. Source: Project Syndicate