Friday, March 29, 2013

[MFP] Communication consultant position for the Better than Cash Alliance (UNCDF)

 

The Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA - http://betterthancash.org/) is looking to contract an individual consultant to support the implementation of the communications strategy (coordination of the communication team, coordination of BTCA corporate communication, media channels and knowledge outreach and monitoring results). Under the overall direction of the BTCA Managing Director, the consultant is also expected to coordinate the effective implementation of the advocacy strategy based on the recommendations of an advocacy scoping study to be completed by July 2013. The consultant needs to be eligible to work in the USA and the position is New York based. For more information, please see the terms of reference: http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=36569

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

[MFP] SMDP Webinar Savings Groups at the Frontier Book Converstation

 

Join Us On April 5 10 AM EDT (-4 GMT)

Savings Groups at the Frontier Book Conversation

Register Here:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/624084750

Our April webinar will feature three of the authors Jeff Ashe, Candace Nelson and Kim Wilson in an informal and interactive discussion moderated by Bill Maddocks followed by open mic questions from webinar participants.

Savings Groups reach those rarely served by mainstream financial institutions. At weekly meetings, members deposit savings and take loans, and in the process build commitment, discipline and mutual assistance. Maximum transparency, a profitable structure for saving, access to small loans and an annual lump sum of capital are the hallmarks of the Savings Group methodology. The outcome: empowered groups, made up mostly of women, who manage themselves as tiny financial institutions. Today there are Savings Groups in 64 countries with more than 7 million members, the result of initiatives carried out by dozens of international and local NGOs.

The new book just published "Savings Groups at the Frontier" explores the issues that will shape the future of Savings Groups. What are the costs, required inputs, and anticipated outreach of these groups? How does replication take place? How sustainable are the groups? Is it feasible to integrate financial and non-financial services? Are linkages to the formal system desirable? What is the impact of groups on members and their households? How can performance be managed? Not surprisingly, these issues mirror the preoccupation of the pioneers of microcredit. However, this book addresses them, not from the perspective of the financial institution, but in support of group members and savers who are managing their own financial services.

The discussions in this book carry on those begun at the Arusha Savings Group Summit held in Tanzania in October, 2011. The authors of these chapters, including Jeff Ashe, Hugh Allen, Joanna Ledgerwood, and Paul Rippey, solicited input from a wide range of practitioners both during and after the summit. They also are the pioneers of the movement and bring extensive experience to these pages.

Wow! Participants in the webinar will receive a coupon for a 35% discount on the book from Practical Action Publishers

Register Here:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/624084750

For more information contact:
Bill Maddocks william.maddocks@unh.edu

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

[MFP] Call for expressions of interest for building a directory of service providers f

 

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance foundation is launching a "Call for expressions of interest for building a directory of service providers for the "Facility for Microfinance in Africa"

For any further information please visit our website at http://www.grameen-credit-agricole.org/en/content/call-expressions-interest-building-directory-service-providers-%E2%80%9Cfacility-microfinance-afri-0

Philippe Guichandut

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

[MFP] You're Invited - Upcoming Smart Campaign Events

 

The Smart Campaign is hosting events and training opportunities for stakeholders like you to learn more about the Client Protection Principles and how they can benefit your work. 

Certification 101: Webinar for Practitioners
 
Interested in becoming `Client Protection Certified' and want to learn more?  The Smart Campaign will be hosting webinars (in English, French, and Spanish) for practitioners and retail providers interested in the Certification Program.  These 90-minute webinars will explain more about the program and the certification standards, what practitioners can expect from the process, and the benefits of being certified. Lead speakers will be from the Smart Campaign Secretariat with participation from licensed certifiers. There will be time for questions from participants.   

Certification Webinar for Practitioners in Spanish, Tuesday April 23rd at 9am EDT
Certification Webinar for Practitioners in French, Wednesday April 24th at 9am EDT
Certification Webinar for Practitioners in English, Thursday, April 25th at 9am EDT

Click this link to register [http://bit.ly/YcLx4a]

Smart Assessor Trainings 

Smart Assessments are an important external diagnostic tool for financial institutions to examine their implementation of the Client Protection Principles and a useful step in becoming "certification-ready." To date there have been over 70 institutions that have undergone assessments.  The sector needs more qualified Lead and Support Assessors to meet the growing market demand from networks, investors and retail providers. The Smart Campaign will be conducting two trainings in late May and early June to increase the cadre of professionals accredited to conduct assessments. These unique professional development opportunities, offered free of charge, are aimed at consultants, network members and individuals already oriented to social performance. 

May 26-27 in Budva,Montenegro – This assessor training leverages the subsequent Microfinance Centre's conference and will train a cadre of experts for Eastern Europe and Central Asian.  The training will be conducted in English.  There will be short screening for attendees upon expression of interest.

June 5-7 in Ciudad dePanama, Panama – This Smart Assessors Training, Smart Campaign Tools Training and Certification Workshop will train a cadre of experts for client protection assessment work in Latin America. The supplemental tools and certification workshops will be aimed at familiarizing MFIs with the tools available to them on the Campaign website as well as prepare MFIs for Certification. These trainings will be in Spanish. There will be short screening for attendees upon expression of interest for the assessor training.

Contact Laura Galindo lgalindo@accion.org if you are interested in either of these trainings.  Email by April 16th to ensure a spot. 



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[MFP] CGAP Newsflash: Financial Inclusion in Russia

 

 


CGAP Newsflash: Financial Inclusion in Russia


According to a recent CGAP Landscaping Report, the Russian Federation presents a picture of rapid and accelerating change in the financial inclusion landscape for lower-income Russians. Progress has been significant in the past five years: the number of people not using any banking services was reduced to 22%; the supply of per capita retail banking services increased fivefold; and in some aspects such as the penetration of bank branches per 100,000 adults, Russia has moved ahead of some highly developed countries.

But financial inclusion in Russia has its own specifics. A new three-part CGAP blog series explores some of these unique aspects. The series discusses how financial access remains a challenge in remote, rural areas, looks at innovation in Russian payment systems and addresses the issue of reducing cash turnover.  

Get up to date by downloading the "Financial Inclusion in Russia" Landscaping Report and reading the blog series:

How Much do Financial Inclusion Indicators Say About Russia?
Financial Inclusion and Innovation in Russian Payment Systems
Reducing Cash Turnover: Challenges In Russia


CGAP


 

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[MFP] ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility Knowledge Flash March 2013 out now!

 

March 2013 Newsletter from the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility highlights:
  • Audiovisual mass media campaigns for insurance education
  • What is a Health Card Worth? An Evaluation of an Outpatient Health Insurance Product in Rural India
  • Calamity Microinsurance in the Philippines
See more at:

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[MFP] Join us in London or online to discuss lessons in microinsurance distribution

 

One of the biggest challenges in microinsurance is getting low margin, high volume products to the low-income market. What can we learn from leading providers that have pushed the frontiers in distributing insurance to the low-income market? What are the pros and cons of partnering with different types of distribution channels to effectively reach the market?  How can the distribution set up be leveraged to deliver microinsurance products that are both viable for insurance companies and valuable for clients?


In the past five years, the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility has made significant progress in supporting microinsurance development and learning critical lessons on how to build quality microinsurance at scale. As part of its 5th anniversary celebration, the Facility, in collaboration with Lloyd's, is organising a breakfast panel discussion to share its lessons on "Pushing microinsurance distribution frontiers to create business and client value" on 10 May 2013, from 8:00 to 10:30 am GMT at the Lloyd's Old Library, One Lime Street, London.


To register for in-person participation, please click here.


The discussion proper will also be webcasted as part of the Facility's webinar series. To register for online participation from 8:30 – 09:45 am GMT, please click here. 


For more information, please click here.

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Monday, March 25, 2013

[MFP] Fwd: [Staff New Haven] Haverford MI3 Conference (March 28-29)

 

Thought this might be of interest to folks interested in microfinance.  

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gautam Nair <gnair@poverty-action.org>
Date: Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Subject: [Staff New Haven] Haverford MI3 Conference (March 28-29)
To: Staff New Haven <staff_newhaven@poverty-action.org>, Staff Washington DC <staff_dc@poverty-action.org>


Hi Everyone,

Haverford College is hosting a conference in Philadelphia on providing access to finance among the poor in the US. The conference is this Thursday and Friday (March 28-29) and is called "U.S. Poverty, Microentrepreneurs and Microfinance: Needs, Responses and Prospects." Jonathan Murdoch (NYU) and Ira Lieberman (CGAP) are among the speakers. I'll be doing a presentation on IPA's approach to using behavioral economics in product development and testing. If you're interested, or know anyone who might be, details can be found here. 

Thanks,
Gautam

--
Gautam Nair | Project Associate, U.S. Household Finance Initiative | Innovations for Poverty Action | Office: 203-772-2216 ext. 214 | Cell: 207-837-8804 |  



--
Julia Brown | Project Associate | Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) | 55 Hillhouse, rm. 311 | New Haven, CT 06511 | Skype: juliakbrown | www.poverty-action.org

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Friday, March 22, 2013

[MFP] Updated Simple Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua now available

 

 

This study uses Nicaragua's 2009 Living Standards Measurement Survey to construct an easy-to-use scorecard that estimates the likelihood that a household has expenditure below a given poverty line. The scorecard uses ten simple indicators that field workers can quickly collect and verify. Poverty scores can be computed on paper in the field in about ten minutes. The scorecard's bias and precision are reported for a range of poverty lines. The simple poverty scorecard is a practical way for pro-poor programs in Nicaragua to measure poverty rates, to track changes in poverty rates over time, and to target services.

 

This paper updates an earlier Simple Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua, using data from 2009 instead of 2005. Estimates from the two scorecards are compatible because they use the same definition of poverty, so users of the old scorecard can (and should) switch to the new one here.

 
 
Mark Schreiner, Microfinance Risk Management, L.L.C.

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[MFP] Better Than Cash Alliance/Call for proposal for an advocacy scoping study

 

The Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) has just published a new RFP for an advocacy scoping study. The tasks consist in researching on BTCA key targets to understand their motivation/barriers regarding the transition from cash to electronic payments and the way they can be reached and influenced (including their close network, preferred media, etc.). The results will lead to refine messages to approach BTCA targets and define an implementation framework for advocacy activities. Please see the link for more information: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=10945

The Better Than Cash Alliance is an alliance of governments, private sector and development organizations committed to accelerating the shift from cash to electronic payments. The Alliance is hosted by the UN Capital Development Fund and founded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, USAID, and Visa Inc.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

[MFP] (unknown)

 

http://ckcs.com.my/554660.php

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

[MFP] CGAP Newsflash: Regulatory Options to Curb Debt Stress

 

 


CGAP Newsflash: Regulatory Options to Curb Debt Stress

The right package of regulations can rein in reckless lending while allowing development of healthy credit markets that extend access to underserved households and very small businesses, according to a report published by CGAP today. The report  Regulatory Options to Curb Debt Stress offers a policy framework for preventing and managing debt stress, which occurs when individual households or whole market segments become over-indebted.

The report argues that it is preferable to implement appropriate monitoring mechanisms and regulatory interventions at an early stage in credit market development, to detect potential debt stress and prevent reckless lending practices, thereby avoiding risks to financial markets, consumers, and the regulator's credibility.

Download the full report and read the press release at CGAP.org.

CGAP



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