08 Mar.

1

On International Women’s Day – A New Approach for Financial Inclusion for Women

Author: Sally Yacoub
As International Women’s Day comes around once more, the stubbornness of the gender financial inclusion gap lingers in my mind. Despite progress in women’s financial inclusion, the gender gap in account ownership has remained persistent - at 9% since 2011. I cannot help but think about Albert Einstein’s quote that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. As a collective global community, we need to do things differently; think differently and intervene differently. Thinking through the barriers to women’s financial inclusion, the persistence of the gender financial inclusion gap is not surprising. Financial services are introduced in contexts and ecosystems that have their own dynamics - which grants privileges for some and presents obstacles for others. Those barriers are often intricately interwoven. When it comes to financial inclusion, women face a broad range of barriers. Despite obvious differences in individual circumstances and needs, many women - particularly low-income women in developing contexts – share common features.
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14 Jul.

0

Can a medical loan help microfinance clients tackle a health emergency better? BRAC's experience in Bangladesh

Author: Shams Azad and Rubait-E-Jannat
Bangladesh has recorded notable achievements in the healthcare sector in the last few decades. Reforms and a drive to develop an extensive healthcare infrastructure have led to reduced child and maternal mortality rates, increased immunisation, and progress in combating infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. All of these achievements are remarkable among south Asian nations. But still, an all-inclusive health care system is a far-reaching goal. An estimated 67% of total healthcare expenditure is met from households’ out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses, one of the highest in the South-East Asia region. Out of this OOP expenditure, 69.4% goes on medicines, exacerbated by the absence of a national health insurance system. So low-income households experience different and serious vulnerabilities during health emergencies.
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25 Jun.

0

Ten editions of the European Microfinance Award: 2017 Winner - Cooperativa de Ahorro y Préstamo Tosepantomin

Author: e-MFP
2019 marks ten editions of the European Microfinance Award and to celebrate, e-MFP has decided to reach out to the previous winners, for a ‘where are they now?’ blog series, published throughout 2019, to look at what they have been doing with their initiative since they won, and how the winning of the Award has helped, and what plans they have in store. In 2017, the theme of the Award was 'Microfinance for Housing' which sought to highlight the role of microfinance in supporting access to better quality residential housing for low income, vulnerable and excluded groups, with no or limited access to housing finance in the mainstream sector. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Préstamo Tosepantomin won for its programme targeting rural communities living in marginalised areas, to which it offers savings and loans for housing improvement and house building. The cooperative mainly applies the solidarity group methodology and uses a holistic approach to its housing programme, with technical support that includes architectural planning, elaboration of housing project budgets, and oversight of the construction processes. The programme also promotes ecological and sustainable housing through eco-friendly building techniques, recycling, renewable energy and energy efficiency. We’re delighted to catch up with them in the fifth of our interviews.
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15 Jun.

1

Recipes for Inclusive, Sustainable Housing

Author: Jenny Line - Building and Social Housing Foundation
At BSHF we were very interested to learn about the European Microfinance Awards and really keen to hear more about some of the great practice being identified. We have been running the World Habitat Awards since 1985. In searching for and sharing the best examples, we have a lot in common with e-MFP. Our objective is to identify and highlight approaches to housing across the world which make outstanding contributions to people’s living conditions. As a minimum we believe everyone should be able to afford their home, have access to basic services, and be free from the threat of eviction or displacement. This might seem like stating the obvious, but it isn’t something that can be taken for granted. Over the years, a large range of excellent examples have been identified in the countries of the global North and the global South. From the very beginning, our focus has been not only on the identification of good housing practices but also in the sharing of knowledge and experience to others who can transfer them in their own situations. The first international peer exchange to a World Habitat Award project winner was in 1987 and the exchanges have continued ever since. Really great approaches recognise, provide and guarantee the right to safe and secure housing; treat people and the environment with dignity; and work collaboratively to get the best out of people and places. Contexts, actors and circumstances vary hugely, but everybody tackling housing faces three crucial ‘sustainability’ challenges – social, environmental and financial
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14 Apr.

0

e-MFP and Financial Inclusion Forum Host London Panel Session to launch "Investing in Tomorrow" and Call for Applications for Housing Award

Author: e-MFP
The second e-MFP ‘Offsite Session’ of the year took place in London on Monday 10th April, in partnership with the UK’s Financial Inclusion Forum – the leading British financial inclusion network. The session was entitled "The Role of MFIs in improving access to and quality of education: Perspectives on the 7th European Microfinance Award and the European Dialogue" and was timed to coincide both with the launch of "Investing in Tomorrow" (e-MFP’s latest Dialogue) and last week’s launch of the call for applications for the upcoming Award on Housing. The event brought together a panel including Arc Finance’s Sam Mendelson (who was the lead author of the paper, as well as a member of the Award Selection Committee), Kaspar Wansleben from Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (a supporter of two of the 2016 Award finalists and key investor in education finance) and Nathan Byrd from Opportunity International’s Education Finance team, along with e-MFP’s Daniel Rozas. Katy Jones from Big Issue Invest and the Financial Inclusion Forum chaired the packed out event, generously hosted by Allen & Overy. Daniel opened the session by outlining the importance of education – its primary importance to households at all income levels and in all places, and the obstacles to universal access in low-income countries. The failure or inability of governments to provide free or affordable quality education to its people is a key reason for the emergence of low-cost private schools in many countries (and the channel for several of the Award semi-finalists’ initiatives).
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25 Apr.

0

Why Finance for the Smallholder Farmer Matters

Author: Peter Harlock - VisionFund
Evidence continues to point towards financial inclusion’s role in helping people move out of poverty, reducing income inequality, and facilitating macroeconomic growth. It will be critical to helping the global community achieve the goal of eradicating poverty by 2030, especially as we strive to reach the places and people where it is most entrenched and the hardest to fight – such as in rural agricultural communities.
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13 Apr.

0

7th European Microfinance Award 2016 launches with focus on Access to Education

Author: e-MFP
Each year, e-MFP launches the European Microfinance Award, in conjunction with the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu). The Award invites applications from financial institutions that are innovating, exploring and testing new ideas, that go beyond their core financial services, and exemplify the evolution of the microfinance sector beyond boilerplate microenterprise credit.
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22 Mar.

0

Do refugees make bad microfinance clients?

Author: Leah Wardle SPTF
“Refugee microfinance” is too risky, right? After all, refugees are more likely to default on their loan because they don’t have ties to the local community or profit-generating enterprises. They are likely to rejected by existing clients as “competition” or simply as outsiders. Refugees’ lack of collateral and their unstable legal status give them little incentive to develop a long-term relationship with the financial service provider (FSP). Right? Not necessarily. In fact, quite the opposite has been true for Al Majmoua, a Lebanese microfinance institution (MFI) serving Syrian, Pilipino, and Palestinian migrants and refugees (in addition to low-income Lebanese clients).
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