New & Noteworthy

Oikocredit Peru and CFI joined forces to carry out a country-specific version of the Opportunities and Obstacles to Financial Inclusion study in Peru in 2012-2013. Peru was chosen in recognition of developments in the microfinance market, market regulation and rules, its free competition model, and the present government’s interest in working towards financial, economic, and social inclusion. Click here for the publication in Spanish, an English summary document, and a preliminary full translation of the publication in English.

The 2013 edition of the Global Microscope on Microfinance has launched. Now in its seventh year, the Global Microscope annual report series examines countries’ microfinance sectors by considering the national regulatory environment and the corresponding institutional framework. This year’s report studied 55 countries, and was developed by the EIU in collaboration with the MIF and CAF, with additional support from Citi Microfinance and CFI. For more on the report, click here.

The Roadmap to Inclusion, a major initiative of Financial Inclusion 2020, has launched. Developed through an extensive consultative process, the roadmap offers a framework to expand access to financial services globally, focusing on five crucial areas: technology, customer needs, credit reporting, financial capability, and client protection. Read the roadmap and share your feedback with us, here.

CFI Managing Director Elisabeth Rhyne is a panelist today in the session “Maya Declaration: Raising Commitments and Measuring Progress” at the fifth annual AFI Global Policy Forum in Kuala Lumpur. For more, including video recordings of several Forum sessions, click here.

What is financial inclusion? No-frills bank accounts? Mobile money? Microloans? In this short, animated video, we learn how financial inclusion can improve lives through the eyes of Constance, a fictional prospective client. To watch the video, click here. 

We’re accepting expressions of interest from financial inclusion innovators to be participants in the FI2020 Global Forum, convening October 28-30 in London. The Forum will bring together approximately 300 leaders across regions and industries, including those from organizations developing financial products and delivery methods that catalyze financial inclusion. For more information, click here.

This third publication of the Running with Risk project is a comprehensive risk and governance manual that follows a newly appointed director of an MFI bank on his journey to acquire the understanding and skills needed to meet the unique challenges of his role. To be released in three parts, Part 1 of the publication focuses on risk governance, and is available here.

Josh Goldstein speaks today on making microfinance institutions disability inclusive at the United Nation’s sixth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. For Josh’s remarks, which share some of the work being done by CFI in this area, click here.

We’re hosting a webinar with Grameen Foundation and the SEEP Network June 16, 9am EST. The webinar will explore findings from the Roadmap to Financial Inclusion. Speakers will discuss some of the key recommendations for developing products that address customer needs. Register here.

In this second publication of the Running With Risk Project, the CFI asked 10 microfinance risk experts to candidly respond to the top risk questions that every board member should be asking, and should be able to answer. We hope this expert exchange will empower board members to speak up when they are uncomfortable about a move an MFI is making, or when they feel an indicator may be an early warning sign of a larger problem. Read the publication here.