Publication of the Microfinance Observatory Annual Report 2010
December 11, 2011 by Microfinance Africa
Filed under MICROFINANCE AROUND THE WORLD
From European Microfinance Network
The Observatoire de la Microfinance (Microfinance Observatory), established by the Governor of the Banque de France in September 2006, has for mission « to develop the knowledge of microcredit operations ». Each year, the annual report of the Observatory permits to evaluate the evolution of the situation in France, in the fields of personal and professional microfinance and responsible savings.
The annual report 2010, to which the EMN contributed, presents in a first part the development of microfinance in Europe to focus on a second part on the particularities of the field in France.
To download the Annual Report 2010 (only available in French), please click here.
Training course : Advocacy for Microfinance Institutions
October 7, 2010 by Microfinance Africa
Filed under Events
Date : 23/10/10 > 24/10/10
Place : Berlin, Germany
Organiser : European Microfinance Network, EMN
The training courses “Advocacy for Microfinance Institutions” will take place on the 23th-24th of October, 2010, in the GLS Bank (10 Schumannstrasse, Berlin).
Advocacy and lobbying are core activities for any microfinance stakeholder. Microfinance in Europe is a relatively new activity, not very well known and sometimes misinterpreted, as it sits uneasily at the crossroads of economic development, financial and social sectors. Only just recently has it made it to EU and member states’ agendas.
To improve awareness and skills, EMN is organising a one-and-a-half day Training Course on Lobbying and Advocacy for Microfinance at National level. The aim of the training is to be an eye-opener on the issue, and to provide participants with practical tools.
Click here for more detailed information on the training course content.
Dutch get all the Qredit in microfinance awards
June 30, 2010 by Microfinance Africa
Filed under MICROFINANCE AROUND THE WORLD
Dutch microcredit foundation Qredits scoops the European Microfinance Best Practices Award 2010 and its €50,000 prize fund
Dutch microcredit foundation Qredits has beaten five finalists from across Europe to win €50,000 and the European Microfinance Best Practices Award 2010.
The organisation, set up in 2008 by three Dutch banks, the country’s ministry of social affairs and employment, and the ministry of economic affairs, lends up to €35,000 to disadvantaged groups that have no access to traditional financial services.
Qredits fought off competition from The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust in the UK, Crédal – Crédit Alternatif in Belgium; Macedonia’s Microcredit Foundation Horizonti and Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Partner MKF.
Judges were impressed with a new IT system put in place at the end of 2009 by Qredits, which has streamlined business. They said this was ripe for replicating across Europe to make the sector more efficient.
The organisation – the only microfinance outfit working across all of Holland – has 510 active borrowers and an outstanding loan portfolio of €9,926,335. It provides loans at fixed interest rate, currently 9.5 per cent, and a maturity maximum of ten years, as well as mentor support for at least five years.
The competition was organised by the European Microfinance Network and the Italian endowment foundation Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore and was presented last Thursday at the Community Development Finance Association’s 2010 conference.
The prize money must be reinvested in new projects or in existing services benefiting socially excluded people.
