The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) invites you to join them in East Africa, South Asia, or Latin America this fall to experience a different kind of travel—one that will bring you lifelong friendships, connect you with a powerful international network, and forever challenge the way you see the world and what’s possible.

Each program is highly immersive, bringing participants on-site to collaborate with local stakeholders. Rather than work on aid-based, short-term projects, FSD’s training programs promote collaboration with communities to enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local health, social, environmental, and economic issues. With ongoing support from FSD’s in-country staff, all programs include: orientation, family homestay, language and grassroots development trainings, hands-on project development experience, debriefing sessions, cultural activities, and access to FSD’s Alumni Connect program, which introduces you to future job and academic opportunities.

Watch the story of Justin Loiseau, a student who spent his time off with FSD in Uganda to help start a bicycle business

In this multimedia event, panelists will discuss how technology is revolutionizing the microfinance industry and the field of economic development. The panel will be composed of academics and representatives from three microfinance organizations: Wokai, a web-based platform for funding Chineses entrepreneurs; ACCION, a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs); and Rekan Usaha Mikro Anda (RUMA), an Indonesian organization that supports microentrepreneurs. There will also be a video presentation on Mifos, a financial institution software initiative of the US-based Grameen Foundation.

Name: Technology and Microfinance Colloquium
Date: June 23, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: The Microsoft NERD Center, Horace Mann Room, One Memorial Drive, Suite 100, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Website: http://www.bostonmfclub.com/calendar
Cost: The fee to attend is USD 10 with a USD 5 discount for individuals donating used cell phones to Chiapas International’s Recycle to Eradicate Poverty program. No prior registration is required.

Background on Organizer: Founded in 2011 in the US state of Massachusetts, the Boston Microfinance Club (BMC) provides a forum for microfinance professionals and enthusiasts to connect with one another, share experiences and debate issues in the global microfinance industry.

Source: MicroCapital.org

On Feb. 18, 2011, a group of young professionals will embark on a weekend-long trip to Jump for Opportunity in Orlando, Fla. They’ll jump out of a plane at 18,000 feet, raising awareness and funds for Opportunity’s microfinance work in Tanzania.  Jumpers can get there early for the Future of Entrepreneurship Education Summit on Friday, Feb. 18th at the University of Central Florida, organized by young entrepreneur Michael Simmons, and featuring Opportunity CEO Bill Morgenstern,

Registration is open until January 11th.  You can read more at the Opportunity Blog

MFI Connect is an organization that educates students of microfinance for thoughtful and productive lives and careers in the industry. The organization pursues this mission by providing microfinance education courses, innovative fundraising campaigns, in-field exposure programs, ground-breaking discussion, and access to competitive job opportunities.  Over the last year, the MFI Connect network has grown to include over 1,100 students, 37 groups, and over 150 universities in 60 countries!

MFI Connect provides online networking and discussion facilities, and supports the Microfinance Simulcast Class by Professor Sean Foot of UC Berkeley. In April, MFI Connect organized the first international student delegation to participate in the 2010 Africa Microfinance Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. There we hosted private student gatherings with Professor Muhammad Yunus, Sir Fazel Abed, and Ingrid Monroe, and ran an associated session about student potential in microfinance. Finally, they have partnered with Campus Kiva to organize the first annual Student Microfinance Summit, which will take place in February at the University of Princeton.

With the rapid growth and recognition of microfinance worldwide, and the momentum of MFI Connect in our first year, the leadership team at MFI Connect is thrilled to hit the ground running on future initiatives. In order to better serve you in supporting microfinance and alleviating poverty, they need your help. The following link is for an 8-question survey, designed to give the MFI Connect Team a better idea of what microfinance students, practitioners and enthusiasts need. This information will help us decide how to proceed with the numerous potential projects that we are currently exploring.

Fill out the survey here or visit MFI Connect for more info.

On Monday of this week, SKS Microfinance made its debut on the stock market.  All week long there has been speculation on how this will effect the economy of India and a how a leading microfinance organization will do in the public market.  Here’s a list of articles that dig into SKS further:

• Indian Market: Stocks On The Move
• SKS Microfinance a fantastic investment opportunity.
• SKS Microfinance Jumps in IPO Debut – WSJ.com
• Can microfinance be both moral and profitable?
• SKS Microfinance gains more than 16% on Listing
• Don’t like SKS Microfinance’s valuation ? Compete, don’t complain
• SKS fairly valued at current levels: Angel Broking
• Indian Investors Buy SKS Story; Scrip Lists At A Premium

Ever since the announcement that Unitus is leaving Microfinance, there has been a lot of speculation about their next step.  Ryan Calkins and the board at SeaMO have come up with a guide to the recent announcments:

“It’s been a couple of weeks since Unitus unexpectedly announced its decision to shut down operations, suspend its involvement in microfinance, and eventually reopen with a new approach to poverty alleviation. In the wake of the announcement and because of our close ties to a number of Unitus staff, we have received numerous requests for the story behind the story. Truth be told, we were as surprised as everyone and have been seeking more information about the motivation behind the closure, its timing, and why the board chose to make the announcement as abruptly as it did.

1. Seattle Times article announcing the Unitus closure
2. SiliconIndia.com post about closure and corollary funds
3. Discussion on Ohio State Develpment Finance Listserv
4. Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Microfinance Group Unitus Shuts Down, Eyes ‘Reinvention’”
5. MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus to Discontinue Microfinance-Related Activities to Focus on Other Poverty Alleviation Strategies, Will Release 40 Staff Members in India, Kenya, United States
6. Chronicle of Philanthropy, “When It Comes to Donations, Is It Possible to Have Too Much?”
7. “Closure of Popular Poverty-Fighting Charity Raises Big Questions”
8. “Microfinance mission accomplished? Hardly, expert says” — Seattle Times
9. Discussion of “Microfinance Mission Accomplished? Hardly” on Microfinance Practice Listserv (login required)
10. Unitus Fund to Cash Out on Indian IPO — Puget Sound Business Journal
11. Matt Flannery’s tweet immediately after the announcement: “Is this what happens when your non-profit succeeds?“

Among our board and volunteers, one consensus has emerged: the Unitus closure is consequential for the microfinance industry…”

Visit SeattleMicrofinance.org to get the whole scoop and participate in the conversation

It’s time for another great SeaMO event for all you folks in Seattle.  SeaMO is hosting an August Microfinance & Microbrews featuring entrepreneurs from Washington CASH:

When: August 12 · 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Ventures, 314 1st Avenue South (in Seattle’s Pioneer Square), Seattle, WA
Price: A suggested $5 donation
About: It is rare to have the opportunity to meet the people, who microfinance has helped. Usually they are only a distant face in a foreign country or a profile on a web site or on a microfinance organization’s brochure, but microfinance helps people locally here in Washington state. Join us for this rare opportunity to meet local micro-entrepreneurs, who have been lifted out of poverty. Come listen to the first-count stories from …Washington CASH’s clients/micro-entrepreneurs at Ventures, a Washington CASH retail store and business incubator, which displays and sells the products and services of dozens of talented and determined micro-entrepreneurs. Microbrews and light appetizers will be provided.

Head over to seaMO to find out more.

Wokai is looking for an intern at it’s headquarters in Beijing who will work with the Marketing Director to help Wokai raise $1 million in loan capital over the next year:

You are the right person if you are:
1. Passionate about social media as it applies to social enterprises.  You love it, breathe it and would swim through piranha-infested waters to spend all day learning about Social Media around the world and in China.

• You must be an active blogger, Twitterer and have accounts on more than one social network.
• You must demonstrate superior writing and editing skills, with writing/blog samples to support.

Bonus points for:

• Blog with high Google rank
• Connections to more than 100 people on any single social network
• More than 150 Twitter followers
• A view on which short URL service is best and why
• A YouTube channel or similar vlogging account
• 2x bonus points for reading/writing Chinese
• 3x if you are an active user of Chinese SNS ie. Sina Weibo, Douban, Kaixin, or RenRen.

2. Passionate about China. If you do not speak Chinese, you must have traveled through the country and read extensively about its culture.

About the job
Researching:

• You are responsible for conducting research across any given topic.

• Other than just collecting information from the Internet and media, you will be required  to organize the information, analyze the data, and write up blog posts and enewsletters.

Strategy and Social Media Management:

• Assist the Marketing Director in developing, and carrying out Social Media Strategies and managing Wokai’s voice across multiple social network platforms.

Media Strategy and Outreach

• Assist the Marketing Director in developing long and short lead PR strategies, campaigns and outreach, preparing media releases as necessary, and generating ideas on how to mobilize Wokai’s Chapter network of volunteers around the world.

Copy Editing

• Iteratively optimizing website copy and all Wokai communication including auto-emails, post-contribution emails, borrower profiles, and Calls-To-Actions throughout website.

Visit Wokai to find out how to apply