CGAP Announces Winners of the Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge Round IX

CGAP is pleased to announce the 5 winners of this year’s Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge (PPIC). BRAC (Southern Sudan), Farm Concern (Kenya), FINCA (Afghanistan), Armenian Habitat (Armenia) and Tamweelcom (Jordan) were selected from an applicant pool of over 200 organizations and MFIs around the world. Each winner receives $50,000 to assist in developing existing and future partnerships that link financial and non-financial services to reinforce the economic activities of the very poor. Click here to read profiles of the winners and learn more about this program.

Round IX of the Pro Poor Innovation Challenge (PPIC) is now closed.

This year's round was focused on supporting partnerships between financial service providers and other organizations that aim to create sustainable livelihoods for the poorest. The application form and announcement are available for reference purposes only. View the announcement in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. View the application form in English.

Background
To date, CGAP has granted PPIC awards to 49 leading-edge microfinance organizations from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Over 250 applications were received from the last round, and 5 winners were selected on the basis of depth of outreach, innovation, effectiveness and commitment to sustainability, among other things. Click here for a full list of past PPIC winners.

PPIC Program Review: Microfinance Institutions Reach Poorer, Marginalized Clients

HOPE - Round VIII Winner Award Presentation Ceremony - CGAP June 2006

A new program review of CGAP's Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge shows that microfinance institutions can reach poorer and marginalized clients if they combine management commitment with market-responsive services and practices that support innovation. Since receiving the award almost all the winners of the PPIC increased their number of poor clients, while collectively adding over half a million clients to their rolls through innovations in products, delivery mechanisms, and client assessment tools. To read the report, click here.

CGAP Announces Winners of the Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge Round VIII

CGAP announces winners of the Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge (PPIC) VIII. Five winners, Crédit-Epargne-Formation (Madagascar); Institution de Microfinance HOPE (Democratic Republic of Congo); Trickle Up Program with Bandhan (India); Union des Clubs d'Epargne et Crédit (Chad); and XacBank (Mongolia) were selected from an applicant pool of over 250 microfinance institutions from around the world. Each of the winners receives $50,000 to use for technical assistance and other expenses related to specific innovations designed to increase financial access for the very poor.
Click here to read the full announcement and program descriptions and profiles of the winners.

PPIC Award Recipient Workshop Held in Rome

ECGAP and IFAD co-sponsored a three-day workshop for a select group of former Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge (PPIC) grant winners in Rome, February 7-9, 2006. The workshop brought these microfinance leaders together to discuss the development of innovative models and methodologies that deepen outreach and promote sustainability. It represented a valuable opportunity for CGAP and IFAD to learn about the usefulness of the PPIC mechanism, and for participants to share ideas and discuss challenges with other industry leaders.