A fascinating story emerged on the BBC today. A controversial payday lender called Wonga came to a voluntary settlement with the UK regulator (FCA) after admitting it had been lending recklessly, at high interest rates, to people otherwise excluded from … Continue reading
In 2009 I bought a 5-year bond issued by IFFIm – the International Finance Facility for Immunisation. I invested £5000 and received £5810 a few days ago (with accumulated interest). Not the best return on capital in history, but not … Continue reading
My friend Beth Rhyne (of Smart, CFI and Accion) recently posted a bizarre article on the CFI blog (i.e. on her blog) in which she pleads for money. The premise is that the infrastructure of the microfinance sector, by which … Continue reading
I had a go at Opportunity International in November 2012 over their extortionate interest rates. I thought I’d update the findings, as new data has emerged on Chuck Waterfield’s excellent website www.mftransparency.org. The results were interesting: The poor Kenyans saw … Continue reading
Another few million clients, new banks emerging daily, relentless spin without much evidence of poverty reduction: I thought I’d provide a light-hearted summary of what’s happened this year in the embattled microfinance sector. The best news is that the microfinance … Continue reading
Having had a brief look at some of the apparently ethical MIVs, I had a quick sniff around Opportunity International (OI). I briefly commented on their ability to generate astonishing levels of hype and spin, but this is a slightly … Continue reading
Larry Reed’s recent press release took me by surprise and flooded my inbox. A fundamental shift has occurred in the sector. Support is emerging from all sides now. The Dutch microfinance investment sector is abuzz with the news as it … Continue reading
The embattled sector is doing what it can to salvage its image. An excellent example was yesterday’s entry on the Huffington Post blog by Kadita Tshibaka. Mr Tshibaka spent 33 years at Citibank, and in 2003 moved to Opportunity International, … Continue reading
Philanthropedia has just published its list of the 11 most outstanding non-profit microfinance players. The mind boggles. Three feature in my book – prominently, and not too favourably. Grameen Foundation USA (GFUSA) was #2, Accion was #3 and Kiva was … Continue reading
