The ubiquity of the credit card and the impact of the recession mean the move to use a mobile phone to make payments and conduct banking is likely to be a slow and tortuous affair in Europe.

The summit will focus on urban poverty by bringing attendees to visit any of the seven leading microfinance organizations in Kenya.

A new microfinance bill that was recently introduced in the Indian Parliament would remove the cap on microloan interest rates. Although there would be no cap on interest rates, the regulatory body would “advise” microfinance institutions to keep rates low and would “closely monitor” them, according to government officials.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to shelve its proposed plan to conduct examination for all managing directors of registered microfinance banks across the country.

Will regulating the microfinance market in Egypt help breach a gap between supply and demand? Sherine Nasr seeks answers

MEPs gave the green light for EU funding to help Europe's unemployed start up small businesses. Credit will be made available to budding entrepreneurs through a "microfinance facility" funded partly from the existing Progress programme and partly from unallocated money in the EU budget.

Online sites like Babyloan or Kiva have taken the idea of lending small sums to help lift people out of poverty to create a direct personal link between lenders and borrowers.

The Microfinance Association (MA), an international membership organization for practitioners in the microfinance industry, has launched its Global Academy Program (GAP). The three-month program, developed by MA and Marconi University of Italy, is aimed at graduates seeking to develop a professional career in microfinance or international development.

In Mongolia, a microfinance system supported by The World Bank and its international partners helps create business opportunities in poor rural areas through the Mongolia Microfinance Development Fund and brings development to remote areas that have been severely affected by the global economic downturn.

Angel Acquisition Corp. ("Angel Acquisition Corp." or the "Company") (OTCBB: AGEL) announced today that the Company has signed a financing agreement with a Private Investor to partner with Angel's new micro financing, micro banking and micro lending network www.angelsinaction.tv

Bankers without Borders, a nonprofit that recruits finance executives to volunteer their time and expertise at microfinance projects in developing countries, has secured a $3m grant from JPMorgan Chase to expand the programme.

Microfinance, perhaps best known as a means of helping small business owners in developing countries move out of poverty, is one source already in place in the United States. These organizations make small loans and other financial services available to low- and moderate-income businesses.

Shah Mohammad Mir is the director of the Helmand Islamic Investment and Finance Corporation (HIIFC), an Islamic credit union, which makes microloans to farmers and other microentrepreneurs. Some farmers that previously grew poppies with Taliban-provided inputs have used loans to buy their own seeds and other supplies to grow wheat and other food crops. To comply with Shariah, Islamic law, loans do not bear interest but instead are repaid with a 2 percent administrative fee. Mr Mir says that the loans, normally for no more than USD 2,000 each, have enabled over 30 people to leave the Taliban. As a result, Mr Mir has received threatening phone calls and had guns fired outside his home. He left town for a short while, but has returned to operate HIIFC’s three branches, which have lent USD 1 million to 1,441 people since late 2007. Regarding the unrest in his country, Mr Mir says: “If we can get rid of the unemployment that should bring security.”

Poverty certainly emerged as the single most problem that lies at the heart of modern day crisis. It quite recently has assumed alarming proportions. Many efforts were made in the past but they could not wholly succeed. Among significant tools, the microfinance was also used for getting rid of poverty which quite recently plagued the whole world. There is always a room for innovation to be introduced to already existing structures. Though microfinance made some gains in alleviating it but with sufficient services the amount invested lie in the danger of being spent on the items of daily use owing to extreme poverty.

The Governor State Bank Syed Salim Raza said Islamic banking will be launched in microfinance sector.

NAMIBIA's first micro-finance bank is a reality after the Bank of Namibia (BoN) yesterday granted Fides Bank Namibia a permanent banking licence.

Microfinance: Trading bread for briquettes—MFIs are a new type of charity. Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean you have to give up on giving. While supporting traditional environmental charities is a wonderful way to make a difference, you might also want to consider giving to eco-oriented microfinance institutions (MFIs). An MFI differs from a traditional aid program in that it lends, rather than donates, money at a low interest rate, which allows people to invest in small scale entrepreneurial projects of their own choosing.

MicroRate is the first rating agency dedicated to measuring the performance of microfinance institutions ("MFIs"). MicroRate's rating teams visit MFIs and "kick their tires". Statement of Damian von Stauffenberg Chairman and Founder MicroRate. Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is adding to its mobile banking capabilities by launching an iPhone application for retail banking customers.

USAA is offering mobile banking to customers that have Google’s Android-powered smart phones. USAA launched its Deposit@Mobile application for the Apple iPhone last year. Since then, USAA customers have deposited more than $300 million worth of deposits using their iPhones.

Khula Enterprise Finance (KEF) of South Africa provides funding to financial institutions to be channeled to socially-oriented causes.

"The relief effort is intense right now, and we know that Haiti needs food, water and medicine immediately, but Haiti will also need foundational support for it's economy"

Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Friday to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS and said the record donation could save nearly nine million lives. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they said the 10-year program will focus on vaccines for AIDS, tuberculosis, rota virus and pneumonia.

Microfinance leaders from 35 countries have already registered for the Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit to be held April 7-10, 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Summit will be the largest microfinance gathering ever held in Africa and the Middle East. Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of The Netherlands, one of the keynote speakers, will join Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, BRAC Chair Fazle Abed, CARE CEO Helene Gayle, and Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta at the Summit in Nairobi.

Chairman of FirstBank Plc, Mr. Oba Otudeko recentlyaddressed the board and management of the bank. In the address, Otudeko who was recently elevated to the chairman of the board, pointed the way forward for the bank.

Is Mobile Banking Safe: Redefining Mobile Security through App Verification Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com

A pilot program in Pakistan has demonstrated the effectiveness of pushing mass literacy through the use of cell phone text messaging capability. The five-month experiment, initiated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), targeted 250 females aged 15 to 24 years old in three districts of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Women’s empowerment is one of the subjects included in the bilateral discussions between India and the United States, said Andrew T. Simkin, U.S. Consul General in Chennai, here on Friday.

At the fourth Microfinance Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, announced that all microfinance bank CEOs would be required to pass a CBN administered exam in order to continue managing their banks. A training program will be held during the first quarter of this year, with certificates being issued at the end of the exercise. Any bank that does not comply with the rules will have its license withdrawn.

Probanx Information Systems specializes in development of software for the financial institutions, offering multi-currency and multi-lingual banking systems with a large variety of modules, based on the latest technologies. We install and support turn-key international Banking Software and Microfinance Software solutions for retail banks, commercial banks, Internet banks and microfinance banks.

Time to market has been a well-worn mantra of the electronics industry. Unfortunately it’s been elevated to the level of panacea – and it’s not. Don’t get me wrong. Getting to market early is a good thing. It’s just not the stepping stone to success that it used to be. Today it’s just part of a much more complex equation. Electronics companies and designers need to solve the whole equation in order to survive and remain competitive as a new generation of electronics products begs for creation.

The Board and Management of Savannah Bank are taking bold steps to ensure that the bank opens its doors to customers within the 18 months period given by the Appeal Court, in February this year. The Court of Appeal had on February 5, in the case of Savannah Bank of Nigeria Plc vs Central Bank of Nigeria et al ordered the apex bank to restore the licence of Savannah. The court, however, put a caveat that Savannah Bank had to recapitalise to the tune of N25 billion and meet other regulatory conditions within the specified period, before it could commence operations...

The aim of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation is to promote creative and innovative approaches in different sectors of human activity and contribute to better equip the European Union for the challenges ahead in a globalised world. During this Year, a series of seven Brussels debates are jointly organised by the European Commission and the EPC in Brussels.

China’s ambitious wind and solar plans represent a direct challenge to Europe’s claims of world leadership on cutting carbon emissions. China is planning a vast increase in its use of wind and solar power over the next ­decade and believes it can match Europe by 2020, producing a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources.

Kiva.org -- the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website -- has launched a pilot expansion in the United States, allowing individuals anywhere to make small loans to U.S. entrepreneurs through the Kiva.org website.

Jewish & Palestinian Students Unite to Answer Obama’s Call to Action in Cairo by Launching Lending Site to Empower Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.

There is a banker who is still feted across the world, collecting accolades and honours wherever he goes. The institution he founded more than 20 years ago is unscathed by the current financial crisis, and his opinion is more sought after than ever before as politicians and economists desperately try to fix our bankrupt system. Muhammad Yunus is to economic development what Nelson Mandela is to world peace.

Founder of an international nonprofit, a speaker before the World Bank, Presidential Scholar, a veteran in microfinance, participant in a discussion with the Dalai Lama — the graduating senior from San Jose's Notre Dame High School has packed more into her slender years than most people do into a lifetime. And she's not yet 18.

Jacqueline Novogratz interviewed by David Serchuk (Forbes). Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and chief executive officer of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to combat global poverty.

Be sure to read Founder, Dana Dakin’s Story of how she traveled to Ghana in 2003 on the occasion of her sixtieth birthday to find a village and start a microlending program.

The urgency with which the Obama administration, members of Congress, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have been working to keep credit available reminds us how critical credit is to the economy. These folks know that without widely available credit, our economy would descend into a debilitating depression.

Kingsolver, the bestselling author writes of a visit to the rural countryside of Orissa in northeastern India, where she interacted with the Akandalamuni Women's Club, which has 15 members. "Like millions of women in South Asia, they started their own microcredit group. Attending twice-monthly meetings and putting two rupees per month (about four cents) into a joint savings account qualified them for small loans, collateralized by group guarantee. This year they borrowed enough to rent a five-acre plot for growing sugar cane, from which they share the proceeds."

What began with a loan of $27 to 42 women in a small village 33 years ago has grown into a global microcredit movement that has changed the lives of millions of poor people around the world. Muhammad Yunus, founder and managing director of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, was the guest speaker at Wharton's MBA commencement on May 17 and the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree during the University of Pennsylvania's commencement on May 18. Yunus spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about his successes, challenges and upcoming initiatives.

Women’s World Banking, Ghana, (IWWBG) arguably the most innova¬tive microfinance institution in Ghana has won an award at the recent Women's World Banking Global Network and Capital Markets meeting held in New York.

Africa's economy of cash handovers and stowed-away savings has long been a hindrance to the continent's economic growth, as well as a cause and excuse to deny credit to its poor. But now, at a time when 10 million Ghanaians own a phone, the world's banks, cell phone networks and aid agencies are coming here to flip one thing into the other — to tweak a few features on a sim card, circumvent some regulations, and voila: The ordinary pre-paid cell phone becomes something not unlike a checking account - a way to text money from person to person throughout this intricate economy.

Microenterprise is an escape valve for social tension at times of crisis, and microbusinesses do a better job of weathering the storm than bigger companies because they are used to overcoming difficulties – a positive effect that is further multiplied when it involves women.

Land acquisitions are on the increase in Africa and other continents, raising the risk that poor people will be evicted or lose access to land, water, and other resources, according to the first detailed study of the trend. The study has been realized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) at the request of UN Food and Agriculture Organization and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It warns that such deals can bring many opportunities (guaranteed outlets, employment, investment in infrastructures, increases in agricultural productivity) but can also cause great harm if local people are excluded from decisions about allocating land and if their land rights are not protected. The report highlights a number of misconceptions about what have been termed land grabs. It found that land-based investment has been rising over the past five years. But while foreign investment dominates, domestic investors are also playing a big role in land acquisitions.

The first microfinance project in Oman is to be launched by PlaNet Finance UAE to give financial assistance to entrepreneurs.

BEIRUT: The microfinance industry in Lebanon is considered to be relatively small and is estimated to have a potential of 190,000 active borrowers, Ziad Halabi, general manager of Ameen s.a.l said on Friday. "As of end 2008 the market consisted of 54,000 active clients, which means that only 28.4 percent of the market has been served, so we still have a gap of 71.6 percent in the market," said Halabi during a conference held at Haigazian Univerisity in Beirut. The conference aims to discuss the importance of the microfinance industry in Lebanon and the challenges facing it in addition to the potential of its future growth.

India should work towards empowering women economically -- through microfinance programs -- and also encourage greater participation of women leaders in panchayats, or village councils, writes author Shoba Narayan in this opinion piece.