Trickle Up is an organization that empowers people living on less than $1.25 a day to take the first steps out of poverty, providing them with resources to build microenterprises for a better quality of life.  In partnership with local agencies, Trickle Up provides business training seed capital grants to launch or expand a microenterprise and savings support to build assets throughout Asia, Africa and Central America.

“Yesterday, Trickle Up launched it’s Mother’s Day Seed A Dream Campaign.  The campaign gives people a way to help a mother in a developing country lift herself from extreme poverty and at the same time honor the mothers in their lives this Mother’s Day.  Trickle Up is partnering with journalist Campbell Brown on the campaign to draw attention to the plight of poor mothers and the extent and severity of extreme poverty worldwide.

Through the campaign, donors can make gifts to Trickle Up in honor of the mothers in their lives that will in turn help a poor mother launch or expand a small business. Mothers who are honored through a donation will receive a Mother’s Day card that explains the impact of the gift, and donors of more than $100 can choose to receive a limited edition, Trickle Up necklace while supplies last. Trickle Up friends will match the donation dollar for dollar to increase the reach and impact of the contributions.” Read More

To learn more, watch the video from Campbell Brown:

I came across an article on Global Envision called “Microconsignment: The Microfinance Alternative” which talks about the new concept of Microconsignment.  Over the last year that have been a couple different spin-offs from microfinance, some have worked, others have not.  I’m not quite sure about the Microconsignment concept, but I think it has some potential.  Here’s the article from Global Envision:

“Chances are you’re pretty familiar with microfinance. But have you ever heard of microconsignment? Microconsignment is similar to microfinance in a lot of ways, but with a unique twist. Basically, instead of giving an entrepreneur a loan to be repaid over an agreed upon period of time, the aim of microconsignment is to give access to a good or service to a community that is without.

For example, in a community where the nearest doctor might be a days drive away, a microconsignment group might work with an entrepreneur to open a shop where people can get their eyes tested and buy prescription eyeglasses. The entrepreneur gets training on how to do an eye exam and run a business, as well as the materials they need to open up shop and market their business. Only after the products sell, the entrepreneur pays back the initial cost using a percentage of his or her profits. Another key difference with traditional microfinance models is that much of the risk stays with the lender.

Greg Van Kirk first tried the microconsignment model in his days as a Peace Corps volunteer. He saw an opportunity, and decided to found Soluciones Comunitarias, a microconsignment institute operating in rural South America. The New York Times’ wrote about the microcosignment pioneer in a recent post on their Fixes blog.

Yolanda Garcia was one of the first entrepreneurs to work with Soluciones Comunitarias, introducing glasses into her community in rural Guatemala. She admitted to the New York Times that her first attempts at selling were not hugely successful. Had she taken out a loan to buy the glasses that didn’t sell, Garcia may have had to take out more loans just to pay the first back. “Why put all that risk on somebody up front?” Malini Krishna, the vice president of development for Soluciones Comunitarias explained to The Times. “Why not help them put the glasses out there and then get repaid when glasses sell?”” read more here.

Today I received a detailed update from Unitus, and I think you might find it as fascinating as I did, for both its honesty and its comments about the state of microfinance in general. I made a small donation a few years ago, and have been impressed with the organization’s communications ever since.  It begins:

Dear Unitus Donors and Supporters:

This is a follow-up to our July 2 announcement that we would redirect our efforts toward new poverty alleviation strategies and initiate no new microcredit acceleration projects. We want to keep you informed about what we’re doing to fulfill our commitments. This letter serves as a stewardship report from our board to you. We are dedicated to using your generous donations appropriately and in alignment with our core mission to help reduce global poverty.

Why We Are Changing our Focus

Unitus’ mission is to reduce global poverty through economic empowerment and this is not changing. What is changing is our focus going forward.

Almost 10 years ago, Unitus identified the potential to dramatically catalyze expansion of the supply of quality microcredit, and subsequently developed and deployed a methodology we called ‘microcredit acceleration’ to realize this opportunity. We saw ourselves as a catalyst for the microfinance industry, hoping that our methods and practices would be adopted throughout the industry. We are proud of the substantial, concrete, positive impact that we’ve been able to make with your support in the operations and scale of our 22 microfinance partners, in the industry overall – and ultimately, in the lives of nearly 15 million of the world’s desperately poor.

After considerable review, we concluded earlier this year that we had achieved our specific microfinance objective: to demonstrate the scalability and commercial viability of microfinance in such a way as to influence the flow of commercial capital toward this crucial poverty alleviation tool. Our decision to curtail additional microcredit acceleration projects was based on strong recommendations from Unitus staff and other respected microfinance experts that sufficient commercial capital was available in many regions to fuel microfinance growth, with additional providers continually entering the field. Understanding this, we felt that we should be very careful in how we would continue to commit precious donor funds to a strategy that had largely achieved its intent.

This realization then necessitated a very difficult decision. Not wanting to unduly spend donor funds on unneeded administrative overhead, we felt an important obligation to scale back our internal operations while still fulfilling our existing commitments and preparing for the next phase of Unitus. This was a painful decision because it involved laying off employees, winding down projects and closing a 10-year chapter of Unitus leadership in microfinance. Painful as it was, we believed then – and continue to believe now – that it was the right thing to do. All this being said, while we tried to make this change in a completely professional and caring manner, we realize that we made mistakes in the way our change was announced and implemented. We apologize for any ill feelings or misperceptions this may have caused to those within and outside the Unitus organization. We could and should have done better executing this organizational shift.

Read the rest here on the Unitus site.

For any of you out there looking for last minute gifts, a lot of microfinance organizations offer gift cards.  Here are a couple I’ve heard of recently that are offering gift cards:

• Opportunity International
• Vittana
• Grameen
• Global Partnerships

Mifos.org is a diverse community of microfinance institutions, technology professionals, business people, volunteers, and contributors, guided by the vision to create and deploy technology that allows the microfinance industry to scale.  Recently they announced that on Tuesday December 21st, they will relese Mifos 2.0, a new version of their Management Information Software. Their initiative—the Mifos technology platform and related services—aims to provide the entire MFI industry with the technology it needs to scale. In collaboration with CGAP, the Ford Foundation and Microfinance Risk Management, Mifos 2.0 will enable MFIs to track and analye the poverty levels of their clients.  Additionally, Mifos 2.0 also offers the power of cloud computing, a centralized hosted solution through Amazon Web Services that allows microfinance organizations to streamline their business operations and scale up with the Mifos Cloud.

Here’s a video that gives more info:

Source

Tonight I saw the Warren Miller Monologue at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.  Besides the fact that Warren Miller is awesome (I’m a big skier!), I was really suprised by the great things that his foundation, the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation, is doing.  Although it’s not the same thing as the microfinance practices that we are all familiar with, I think it has some of the same undertones.  The Warren Miller Foundation’s mission statement is “designed to lead young people and adults to become strong, financially independent adults in an experiential/practical curriculum. The experience of starting and running a business, no matter how small, introduces the principles of the American economic system. This type of entrepreneurship promotes economic freedom and the rewards of succeeding through hard work, ingenuity, and creativity.“  Although this foundation doesn’t actually donate money to entrepreneurs, it teaches them valuable business and entrepreneurial skills that can help kids and adults get started on the right foot.  It’s great to see the Warren Miller Dynasty helping inspire young minds in addition to being a legendary ski movie director!

Today I listened to this Global Prosperity Wonkcast with David Roodman:

A crisis is unfolding in India’s microcredit sector that– beyond its immediate effects on borrowers and lenders– will greatly affect the future of financial services for the poor. I’m joined by David Roodman, senior fellow here at the Center for Global Development and author of the forthcoming book Due Diligence: A Guide to Microfinance (which he has shared step by step on his Open Book Blog). David recently traveled to Andhra Pradesh, the epicenter of the crisis. On the Wonkcast, he leads me through the story of the explosive growth of Indian microcredit– and its sudden fall from grace. [more]

The microfinance crisis in Andhra Pradesh has been compared to the situation in Nicaragua, which I wrote about for MyKRO last year. I haven’t been following the news all that closely, and the podcast gives a fascinating overview. I found the following points particularly thought-provoking:

• Entrepreneurial journalists found out that as many as 30 microfinance borrowers had committed suicide in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This put the dark side of microfinance into the spotlight, and made it a political issue.
• When compared with other personal finance options in India, microfinance is a mass production with low-quality service. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are more aggressive about repayment, unlike moneylenders (who charge higher interest rates but are like “parasitic organisms… who don’t want to kill the host.”)
• Investors might be part of the problem, and not just part of the solution. The “bottom of the pyramid” gospel says that microfinance should commercialize, so it can scale and provide more opportunities to more people. The “social investors” promoting this gospel have good intentions, but their drive for scale might have lowered the service standards for these organizations.

That’s a photo of microfinance borrowers in Andhra Pradesh, from this Indian news website.

Andhra Pradesh : Micro Finance becomes ‘Macro Curse’ for people The past few years have seen the entire microfinance sector grow exponentially. As with any other boom, suspicion always exists on whether a bust is just around the corner. This is especially true in the current international setting; with a major financial bust that humbled Alan Greenspan to admit he was “in a state of shocked disbelief”.

In hindsight, it might seem obvious that the years of heady growth directly resulted in the sub-prime crisis and credit crunch. This heightens the sense of unease over the rapid growth of the microfinance industry and one is often seized of whether we are sitting on a bubble waiting to burst.In the case of microfinance, a bubble will be created if a significant number of members are funded beyond their repayment capability.

The atrocities of the Micro finance men on the consumers is increasing day by day. Already two people have committed suicides in the Srikakulam and Warangal districts and some suicide attempts.Since past two days the people have attacked the offices of microfinance and destroyed the infrastructure.

Read the rest here.

Overall, I think that the situation in Andhra Pradesh is devastating and tragic, but should not be interpreted as a blanket statement that microfinance is harmful.

I think that the key issues in microfinance are education and customer service. It is absolutely crucial that borrowers know how to use their loans, and that the MFIs provide real service. I think education and customer service should take precedent over commercial scale.

What do you think?

“Easy, Simple, Powerful. Come travel and change lives!” What more can you ask for?  The slogan of the new microfinance organization Investours, which is pioneering the concept of “microfinance tours,” combines microfinance and tourism.  I’ve got to say, this is a pretty amazing concept. So far, Investours has only only done a pilot in Oaxaca, Mexico and has recently launched a second program in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  How does Investours work?  Here are the five simple steps:

1. Sign up for an Investour. 100% of your fee will be used for the loan given to the borrowers whom you visit.
2. Visit a developing community, meet multiple groups of women entrepreneurs, and learn about their small businesses
3. After a discussion with your tour group, select a group of entrepreneurs to receive the loan
4. Track the progress of your borrower group
5. Join our alumni network and continue to be involved with Investours

I’m really excited about this new concept for microfinance.  I’m not quite sure how scalable it is, but so far it seems to be a great concept.  Microfinance is still on the rise, but people are always traveling, so if they can penetrate tourism on a grander scale, this could have a lot of potential. I hope it does!

New Generation Energy’s (NGE) mission is to make America’s communities healthier and more sustainable through the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. They support solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal, along with many different kinds of energy efficiency. NGE recently launched the Green Energy Project Microfunding Site, which lets you support green energy projects online via small donations. It is similar to popular microfinance sites, but uses donations rather than microloans to support specific projects.  Here is a list of projects that you can fund.  In addition to funding projects, NGE has plenty of jobs, internships and volunteer positions, here’s a list of the current ones:

Community Lending Program Intern:
NGE is seeking a talented and motivated intern to research renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that qualify for low-interest loans from our Community Lending Program (CLP). The selected candidate will be in charge of managing relations with potential project partners, maintaining a record of project data, and evaluating loan applications and costs/benefits for each project. The selected candidate will also be responsible for tracking new regulations or policies that may affect the industry, as well as monitor the economy to determine its effect on earnings.
Key responsibilities:
Research and provide analytical support for potential Community Lending Program (CLP) loan recipients. Perform on-site visits as needed, along with phone and email correspondence. Maintain accurate information in our database regarding loan applications and recipients. Coordinate creation of promotional materials for CLP including press releases, web articles, and newsletter articles. Coordinate with local community–based organizations that serve low and middle income communities.
Requirements:

• Excellent communication skills; written and verbal
• Strong analytical and research skills
• Ability to multi-task and adhere to deadlines
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications Graphic and visual presentation development skills
• Database experience with Salesforce a plus
• Background in energy or environmental sciences a plus
• Enthusiasm and creativity a must!

Development and Outreach Intern:
New Generation Energy is seeking a talented and motivated Intern to provide assistance in the areas of grant preparation and submission, database development and maintenance, and non-profit organization outreach.
Key responsibilities:

The grant-related portion of this internship involves researching and identifying funders who are a potential match with our mission and programs, writing follow-up reports to funders as needed to satisfy reporting requirements, and maintaining a schedule of all grants and reporting deadlines. The database component of this internship consists of assisting with the development of a database to more effectively manage information about NGE’s program participants and contacts. The database will be used to record information connected with granting agencies, potential donors, and other individuals and organizations. The outreach portion of this internship consists of contacting potential partners, funders and/or supporters regarding our upcoming activities, and determining whether they are interested in collaborating with us, or whether a partnership or supporting relationship may be possible.
Requirements:

• Excellent writing skills
• Strong interest in working with grant application and proposals for foundations, corporations and government
• Strong research ability and organizational skills Ability to multi-task and adhere to deadlines
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft applications & database applications
• Detail-oriented
• Enthusiasm and creativity a must!

Marketing and Publicity Coordinator:
NGE is seeking a creative and motivated intern to participate in the conception, development and production of press releases and a quarterly newsletter. The successful candidate will be able to maintain a database of trade associations, journals, magazines and other media outlets and track media response to our press release. Candidates should be comfortable making calls to various organizations and handling relationships with media professionals. In addition, this position involves researching, developing and maintaining a calendar of trade shows and conferences for NGE to participate in, including local community events.
Key responsibilities:

Contacting media outlets to publish press releases. Writing and editing content of the newsletter and press releases, data entry of trade associations, trade journals, local papers, magazines etc.
Requirements:

• Excellent communication skills: verbal and written
• Graphic design experience
• Strong organizational skills; detail oriented
• Professional demeanor
• Ability to multi-task and adhere to deadlines
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications
• Detail-oriented
• Enthusiasm and creativity!

Source: PRweb

Microfinance Gateway, a microfinance website provided as a service of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) featuring research and other publications, industry announcements, news, events and job opportunities in the microfinance sector, has reached 10 years of operation…click here to read more

About CGAP:
Housed at the World Bank Group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is an independent policy and research center dedicated to facilitating the provision of financial access to poor people worldwide. CGAP is supported by approximately over thirty development agencies and private foundations. Its mission is to provide market intelligence, to promote standards and to offer advisory services to governments, microfinance providers, donors and investors.