// By Aimable Twahirwa, Inter Press Service Governments, especially in Africa, need to have strong accountability measures in place in order to effectively reach women in rural areas through gender responsive budgeting. This was one of the recommendations in the Global Call for Action plan drawn up at the end of an international high-level meeting... 

By Sure Kamhunga, Businessday THE Treasury said yesterday that new legislation for the micro- insurance sector could come into effect by 2014. This would be an attempt to regularise an industry the government is keen to see expanding insurance cover to the poor, and rid it of unscrupulous companies. The government says that extending micro- insurance... 

// By Amaka Abayomi, Vanguard THE Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI), in partnership with the Lagos State Cooperative Federation (LASCOFED), has established a micro-credit fund that would be accessible to members of LASCOFED with the aim of alleviating poverty. Speaking at a one-day sensitization workshop on Ways of Accessing Lagos... 

// By Atmadip Ray, Economic Times Kolkata-basedUnited Bank of India has just sanctioned a Rs 100-crore loan toBandhan Financial Services, the country’s fourth-largest microfinance institution (MFI) by assets. Of the Rs 30,000 crore MFIs have borrowed from the banking system till date, this is perhaps the most precious Rs 100 crore ever. This... 

// From itinews.co.za The National Treasury today releases a policy document entitled “The South African Microinsurance Regulatory Framework”. The proposed microinsurance framework discussed in this document aims to address the specific challenges of improving access to insurance and consumer protection for lower income families in... 

// From Albawaba In 2010, microfinance was one of the strongest business sectors in Yemen, and Yemen ranked first in the microfinance industry among the Arab countries. But the recent uprising has negatively affected this vital sector that serves tens of thousands of poor Yemenis. On Wednesday, the Yemen Microfinance Network (YMN) organized a workshop... 

// By Ramesh S Arunachalam, Moneylife Is it appropriate for a company, established to provide access to finance to low-income people, to lend to its promoter and managing director to buy shares in the same company at par value? Consider yourself as an institutional/retail investor in a micro-lender and you may have bought equity because you believe... 

// From Daily Times ISLAMABAD: Tameer Microfinance Bank in partnership with AsiaCare has launched ‘Tameer Sehat O Sukoon’, a health micro-insurance product that will be offered to low-income individuals to provide them with quality healthcare when they need it most. The aim of the launched product is to help poor households have access to... 

// From PRWEB Mark another notch on the belt for the growing social movement of using emerging technologies to enact true change across the world. Vittana, a cutting-edge education non-profit that leverages the power of the crowd to fund student micro-loans for young people in developing nations, has reached a pivotal milestone: 1,000 students... 

// By Dorothy Decker, Daily Trust Islamic banking has been consistent with the principles of Islamic law (Sharia) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economies. Sharia prohibits the payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money. Investing in businesses that provide goods and services considered...