Muhammad Yunus has important advice for Washington. He believes that the United States Government's bailout of the banking system is but the first step in redesigning the global credit system. In the end, Yunus believes that a new self-correcting market system will have to be created.

In 1983, Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and ushered in the era of microfinance and social entrepreneurship. By offering tiny amounts of credit to poor people, mostly women, to finance small more...

'Peru has the best business conditions for microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the results of the Microscope index presented recently by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index consists of a scorecard that weighs factors such as the investment climate, the development of public institutions and the regulatory frameworks for microfinance in 20 countries in Latin America and the C more...

'Merrill Lynch Community Development Company (MLCDC) has invested US$10 million in Calvert Foundation’s Community Investment Notes in an effort to mainstream microfinance and community investing. The Community Investment Notes is a fixed income investment product that allows individual and institutional investors to support economically disadvantaged communities around the world. The investment will be targeted to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries. The initiative was announce more...

'India Post is poised to disburse microcredit to women Self Help Groups (SHGs) in 8 states of India in partnership with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The scheme has operated thus far on a pilot basis. During the pilot, Post Offices have successfully disbursed INR13.5 million (US$288,901) to 165 women SHGs. The scheme will help the Postal department in cross selling its financial and insurance services to the members of the SHGs.'

'PepsiCo Foundation has announced US$4.1 million grant to WaterPartners International to facilitate access to safe water and sanitation for individuals and communities in developing countries. The commitment was made at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The grant is the biggest single contribution to WaterPartners' WaterCredit Initiative which uses an innovative microfinance program to increase access to safe water and improve sanitation for local communities in India.'

'For months, the fellowship of institutions providing microfinancing has been angrily divided over the actions of one of its own. Compartamos, a fast-growing Mexican bank, went public in April 2007 and sold US$468 million in shares on the Mexican stock market and gave the cash to its investors. Critics said the bank was putting profit ahead of clients, contrary to the altruistic ideals of microlending, which specializes in giving tiny loans to the poorest of the poor. Now, it seems, the two side more...

'Former US President Bill Clinton warned rich countries at the fourth annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting that they should not learn the wrong lesson from the financial crisis and said it can be profitable to help the poor.

'While Congress debated a US$700 billion bailout to save the US financial system, Clinton said as he wrapped up his philanthropic summit that the turmoil could also be seen as an opportunity to invest in developing nations. 'The people who have these microcredit opera more...

'The global credit crunch has led to a significant drop in fund flow to the microfinance sector. In India, banks which are required to provide 32-40 percent of their loans to the priority sector (which includes rural credit), are the largest providers of funds to MFIs. They lend to microfinanciers, who then on lend to the poor at a higher rate. But with banks' lending rates rising more than 200 basis points over the last quarter, microfinanciers are finding it tough to get enough funds to sustai more...

Google has announced a project under which it will devote U.S.$10 million to fund development of 'ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible'. People are invited to submit their ideas by October 20th. Google will select 100 of these for public comment. It will then select the best for funding.

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* Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
* Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselv more...

'In possibly the most rapid take-off in the provision of financial services the world has ever seen, the number of Kenyans with bank and savings accounts tripled last year, from 3.3 million to 10.1 million. Banking industry players attribute the growth, which took place in the last 18 months, to aggressive marketing of credit, greater availability of banking facilities and the introduction of a series of new products targeting low-income groups. As a result, 27 per cent of Kenyans now hold accou more...