Symbiotics NewsWatch #182, 25 October 2011

Oct. 25	India: Three Microfinance Institutions - Spandana Sphoorty Financial, Share Microfin and Asmitha Microfin decide against merger Three microfinance firms which had proposed a merger at the time of their debt recast talks with banks in August have now called off the plans, saying it is not feasible. Source: The Economic Times
Oct. 23	From Microcredit to Microfinance: New Ambitions for Tunisia After the revolution of January 2011, Tunisians experienced poverty at a level far more critical than official statements had suggested. Microfinance has quickly been identified as one of the tools that can help reduce inequalities, address exclusion, and strengthen the country’s economic fabric, as already shown by the achievements of Enda Inter-Arabe (Enda) and the Microcredit Associations (MCA) that have been operating since 1990. Source: CGAP
Oct. 21	Mexico: Segmenting the “Bottom of the Pyramid”  Reaching the poor with a range of useful, convenient, and affordable financial services is challenging for all the reasons we know. In the context of Mexico, access has increased significantly in the past few years (nearly 60% of all households), and changes in regulation enabling correspondent banking are likely to bring the access barrier down even further. Source: CGAP
Oct. 20	Lisa Hall, CEO of the Calvert Foundation, on Impact Investing: An In-depth Interview So many of us take for granted that we can get a loan for school, to start a business, or buy a car, if we need it. But the fact is there are millions of people, both in the U.S. and around the world, that are shut out of the financial system. And opportunity is hard to come by when you are shut out. Lisa Hall is the President and CEO of Calvert Foundation. Source: Forbes
Oct. 19	Nigeria: Microfinance Banks disburse USD 407 million in six months The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that loans and advances disbursed by micro-finance banks (MfBs) in the first half of year 2011 increased by 23.8 per cent to USD 404 million, as against USD 326 million recorded at end-December 2010. Source: Vanguard
Oct. 18	The Multilateral Investment Fund partners with Nordic Development Fund to Finance a pioneer Green Microfinance Initiative Program to boost access to clean energy, energy efficiency technology and adaptation products to micro, small and medium-sized companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Source: Inter-American Development Bank