Hélia Dezimahata Lory Nsthandoca e Victor Valido Vilela
Este blog apresenta a Iniciativa para Preços Transparentes em Moçambique, o último país do Programa enabling APR & EIR, desde o seu lançamento até o estágio atual do processo de colecta de dados.
(more…)
by Jessica Massie and Dasha Kuts
MFTransparency‘s financial education team in Rwanda has been learning a lot about the client perspective as we complete the first phase of our financial education pilot program. Through interviews and focus groups, we are learning directly from clients about the experience of making borrowing decisions based on price, and learning about what approaches to education are effective and which may be less effective.
(more…)
DFID Financial Sector Deepening Project Uganda & Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU)
by Dasha Kuts
Dasha Kuts is an Intern with MFTransparency’s Financial Education Program. She is also a Financial Service Expert for the International Resource Group, working on the USAID-funded Microlinks website.
MFTransparency has been instrumental in developing useful tools and processes to improve financial education and consumer protection in the microfinance sector. Recently, I got involved with the Financial Education Program that is being conducted by MFTransparency in Rwanda and Malawi.
On July 27, 2011 MFTransparency will host a webinar to launch the transparent microloan pricing data collected in the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Uganda. In this webinar MFTransparency will present transparent prices for microloans offered in Uganda, information never before available, and discuss other outcomes of the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Uganda.
(more…)
Financial education, financial literacy, and financial capabilities are hot topics in development today. They have the attention of donors and of governments all over Africa – and all over the world. Financial education is also a key activity in MFTransparency’s enabling APR & EIR Program.
(more…)
Earlier this month we launched the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia and Tanzania with training workshops in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. In just the first few weeks of these projects we have already learned a lot about the pricing practices in these markets and the role that MFTransparency can play in providing institutions with technical skills for implementing more transparent pricing.
(more…)
LANCASTER, PA, USA & ACCRA, GHANA, June 15, 2011 – Innovative Finance Limited, Association of Progressive Entrepreneurs in Development, Community Aid for Sustainable Development, E-Life Development Agency, Initiative Development – Ghana, Opportunity International Savings and Loan Limited Ghana, Sekam Trust International, Grameen Ghana, CashPhase Ghana Limited and AIDEZ Small Project International are the first ten microfinance institutions to participate in the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Ghana by submitting microloan product information and pricing data.
(more…)
LANCASTER, PA & LUSAKA, ZAMBIA, May 31, 2011 – On June 6, 2011 MFTransparency and the Association of MicroFinance Institutions of Zambia (AMIZ) will co-host a workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia, the sixth country in the MasterCard Foundation-funded enabling APR & EIR Program.
(more…)
LANCASTER, PA & DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, May 27, 2011 – On June 10, 2011 MFTransparency and the Tanzania Association of Microfinance Institutions (TAMFI) will co-host a workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Tanzania, the seventh country in the MasterCard Foundation-funded enabling APR & EIR Program. A second workshop in Arusha will follow on June 13.
(more…)
The enabling APR & EIR Program recently expanded to Ghana, now active in Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and Ghana. The launch in Ghana was successful, meet with enthusiasm from a wide range of industry stakeholders.
(more…)
by Paul Kuwornu
Since launching the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi in August (also the launch of the enabling APR & EIR Program), I have learned a lot about the microfinance industry in Malawi. The microfinance sector in Malawi is relatively small but actively involved in a transition into a more credible and sustainable business to cater for the poor’s financial needs. The microfinance industry in Malawi is made up of various types of institutions ranging from SACCOs, whose members own shares and earn dividend, to non-profit NGOs who seek to promote the well-being of the poor. Currently there 21 MFIs registered with the Malawi Microfinance Network (MAMN). The sector has received a lot of attention in recent days and various strategies and initiatives have been put in place to boost the industry.
(more…)
by Jordan Filko
On August 31, 2010 MicroFinance Transparency hosted a workshop in Lilongwe, Malawi, in partnership with the Malawi Microfinance Network (MAMN) to launch the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi. In this workshop, MicroFinance Transparency Vice President Alexandra Fiorillo offered a range of local industry stakeholders training on the calculation of microfinance interest rates and various methods of implementing transparent pricing.
(more…)
MFTransparency Vice President Alexandra Fiorillo trains participants of the launch workshop in Lilongwe, Malawi
On the 31st of August 2010, MicroFinance Transparency launched the first country project of the enabling Africa to Price Responsibly and Educate on Interest Rates (enabling APR & EIR ) Program in Lilongwe, Malawi. Sixty-five participants, representing microfinance institutions, donors, investors, government officials and regulators, participated in the project launch.
The chairperson of the Malawi Microfinance Network (MAMN), Joseph Mononga, gave the opening remarks in which he stressed that transparent pricing is critical for ensuring a sustainable microfinance industry in Malawi. He also expressed the importance and timeliness of the MFTransparency project since pricing has recently been a major issue of discussion in Malawi. He expressed thanks to MFTransparency for undertaking this important initiative.
(more…)
MicroFinance Transparency has begun a global movement to promote transparent pricing in the microfinance industry by collecting data and training microfinance institutions, regulators, and other stakeholders about the true cost of loans. Next week we will launch a project that will expand this movement throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
(more…)
What do getting an EIN number, registering with the IRS, getting a letter signed by an attorney, and creating a limited power of attorney contract have in common? If you guessed getting set up a business in the United States, you guessed wrong.
(more…)
My first job as a summer intern for MFTransparency has been to research the market in Malawi in preparation for the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Malawi, the first project launch of the enabling APR & EIR Program, on August 31st. Through my research I have learned many things, but none more poignant than how poor and underdeveloped the majority of Malawi is.
(more…)
Blog RSS Feed