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Portfolio, a publication of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, offers insight into the latest microfinance trends. Send us your comments at portfolio@cgap.org.
African leaders gather to discuss policy change, while Malawi's pioneers look to transform access to finance.
Regulating branchless banking; Are microcredit interest rates exploitative? AML-CFT: Could increasing access improve security?
Good for clients, good for business?
It takes more than money
Proponents of microfinance firmly believe that access to financial services improves the lives of poor people, but can they prove it?
In April, Compartamos made an initial public offering of its stock. A new CGAP Focus Note asks: are clients paying the price?
How do we open the door wide enough for innovation while mitigating new or enhanced risks?
Hi-tech devices are already very much a part of poor people's lives. In Africa alone, the number of mobile phone subscribers has reached 155 million.
In Africa, funders need a tailored approach
In Sri Lanka, donors learn the hard lessons of microfinance
When it comes to microfinance, Sri Lanka is a study in contrasts.
Some observers question whether the increased attention to microfinance could attract lenders that might not care as much about development objectives, and might even engage in predatory lending practices that take advantage of poor clients. For this reason, consumer protection has become a hot topic in microfinance.
Recent moves to fight money laundering and the financing of terror could directly impact the poor, according to a new paper by the World Bank and CGAP. The paper
summarizes the implications of the international framework for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) for financial service providers working with
low-income people. Also in this issue: "Whither Savings," "Queen Rania Chairs First MENA Executive Council Meeting," "New CGAP
Resource Centers," and "Hightlight: Banque du Caire
Mainstreams
Microfinance."
In the first issue of this new CGAP publication, read on-the-ground insights about the post-tsunami reconstruction and more on how today's aid money can help fight poverty in the long run. Also, frontiers and innovations in microfinance funding.
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