The Alliance responds to the need and demand for an inclusive global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the use of ICT for enhancing the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, notably reduction of poverty.

The Africa-Brazil Cooperation Programme on Social Development promotes technical exchanges between Brazil and African countries. Currently, twenty-six delegates from Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, the African Union, NEPAD and AfDB are participating in a Study Tour in Brazil.

The next CGAP/MFMI training course for funders 'Building Inclusive Financial Systems: How Can Funders Make a Difference?' will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, November 10-14, 2008. The course will be held in French.

This one-of-a-kind course is tailored specifically to donors, investors, and policymakers interested in keeping up with the rapidly evolving world of microfinance while gaining practical skills in microfinance appraisal and performance-based management. Join over 480 participants from more...

Grant Amount: $465,000 over three years to expand its operations in Latin America and East Africa to foster environment conservation and grassroots economic development
Award Year: 2005. SASE Awards/Skoll Foundation. William Foote was an investment banker during the Latin American growth years of the early 1990s. After the peso was devalued in 1994, he spent two years in rural Mexico studying and writing about the financial crisis and its effects on rural people and the environment. He founded more...

Small grassroots businesses, such as coffee farmer cooperatives and artisan associations are engines for sustainable development and poverty alleviation in rural communities in the developing world. Considered too small and risky for mainstream banks and too large for microfinance, these grassroots businesses are caught in the “missing middle”; they cannot access the capital they need to grow and sustain their operations.
Root Capital addresses this market failure through an innovative lend more...

'This paper will present a brief overview of the microfinance “industry” in the Philippines as well as the recent developments of increased commercialization. Commercialization of microfinance has spurred greater competition leading to increased innovations in microfinance products and service delivery.'

'This paper discusses migrant remittances in the Sri Lankan context, specifically in relation to Hatton National Bank’s (HNB) microfinance program and the use of technology. Currently outreach in microfinance is expanding as a result of migrant remittances, improved technologies and cheaper services. HNB’s innovative remittance e-product, Money2Home, is one such product outlined and other future development areas are considered.'

'ICT can be a strategic tool in making Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) more efficient and effective. MFIs can reach more people in a more economic way by implementing the right Management Information System (MIS). While a few MFIs are making good use of technology, the majority are facing difficulties in getting the right solution. The back-office MIS is the backbone of any Information System solution and yet it has not received much attention. MFIs, whether large or small, need to have a stron more...

'Microfinance in Bangladesh has almost reached the stage of a matured market. However, there are still substantial segments of potential clientele who are not serviced by any microfinance organization (MFI). Inadequate finance is one of the most important reasons MFIs have not reach these clients. Fund shortage is more prevalent among the smaller MFIs. In such a situation, an effective linkage between the MFIs with financial constraint and banks with excess liquidity is a simple but highly effec more...

'Despite significant innovations in rural and microfinance over the years, millions of people around the world do not have access to financial services. Can strategic linkages and alliances between financial institutions help resolve this problem?Our results drawn from 12 case studies conducted in eleven countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America indicate that financial linkages are increasingly used by formal financial institutions (public or private) to target rural clients. A wide variety of more...