New & Noteworthy

Two Smart Campaign publications, Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance and Smart Microinsurance, made the list of the Microfinance Gateway’s most-downloaded publications of 2012. Campaign by Numbers has been used thousands of times since its launch in late November. And the Campaign released new client protection tools in Portuguese and Spanish last month, with more coming soon.

In South Africa, people living with HIV are often unable to access basic financial services. AllLife provides life insurance and health management services to HIV-positive clients across income groups in South Africa. AllLife Co-Founder and Managing Director Ross Beerman visited CFI and discussed AllLife’s unique model and why life insurance is vital to those with HIV.

The workshop, “U.S. Microfinance at the Crossroads” (November 8, Washington, D.C.), will introduce a new report by Calmeadow, which analyzes the capacity of the microfinance industry in the U.S. to scale up services, achieve sustainability, and attract private investors.

Joshua Goldstein delivered the Keynote Address on Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities at the Binational Forum about Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico.

This month’s edition of Inclusions recounts the recent unveiling of the Global Appeal for Responsible Microfinance and offers an overview of the landmark document.

Industry leaders including the Microfinance CEO Working Group have released the “Global Appeal for Responsible Microfinance,” an exciting effort to expand quality practices among all industry stakeholders. 

We're pleased to release a new Smart Note focusing on the exemplary efforts of Tameer Bank in handling client complaints through the Tameer Customer Service Unit, its two-way in-house call center.

This month's edition of Inclusions announces the release of the new Governance Guidelines, offering an overview of the manual, why it was updated, and how it should best be used.

This edition of Inclusions (with a bright new design!) highlights the new Client Protection Certification program and the latest Microfinance Matters Interview with Alex Silva. 

Check out the Smart Campaign's newest Smart Note that describes how AMFA is championing client protection among its 28 member organizations.