Symbiotics NewsWatch #184, 08 November 2011

Nov. 07	India: SKS Microfinance Reports Rs 384 Crore Loss in Q2 Country's only listed microfinance institution SKS Microfinance on Monday reported a net loss of Rs 384 crore (77 million USD) for the second quarter ended on September 30, 2011, on account of lower income and higher provisioning. Source: Hinduistan Times
Nov. 07	Deutsche Bank Launches £10m Social Investment Fund  Deutsche Bank announced today that it has launched a £10m social investment fund in the UK to support social projects with a financial return.  Source: Social Enterprise
Nov. 03	Yemen: The Microfinance Sector, a Case Study of Al-Amal Microfinance Bank In Yemen, the microfinance sector in 2010 has made significant progress, with the number of active clients increasing by 100% in one year to reach over 60,000 projects, serving approximately 300,000 citizens. MFIs, including Al-Amal Bank, welcomed this progress, and drew up plans for 2011, in order to reach even more active clients. Source: CGAP Microfinance Blog
Nov. 02	Geoff Moore of TBC Capital on the Potential of Impact Investing Why not explore how the levers of capital markets can revolutionize how we address social and environmental issues? My professional and personal experiences lead me to have absolutely no doubt that there are truly great investment opportunities to be found, and that double and triple bottom line investing is both achievable and highly necessary in today’s world. Source: Forbes
Nov. 02	Nigeria Tops Africa’s Unbanked Chart Nigeria has the highest number of unbanked people in Africa, a survey has shown. In a report jointly released by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and MasterCard Foundation, over 80 million Nigerians do not have access to financial services. Source: The Nation
Nov. 02	Will EU Development Agenda Deliver on Inclusive Growth? The EU's new strategy for the developing world should be good news for the microfinance sector as is fosters the kind of sustainable growth that the EU is looking for, writes Christoph Pausch, executive secretary of the European Microfinance Platform. Source: EurActiv.com
Nov. 02	Argentina Lags in Microfinance, Despite Huge Potential Although microfinance is more deeply rooted in Latin America than in other regions, in Argentina the sector is less developed, but has enormous potential, experts say. Source: InterPress Service