At Kiva, we value being in tune with the current news, research, and findings, so each week we are going to bring you the latest updates in Microfinance!
In this post, we cover the following: an NDTV ground report on the microfinance sector in Andhra Pradesh, the UNDP’s Interactive HDI through Google, a Harvard study on the economic returns to social interaction, an Economist article on Africa’s growing middle class, and much more!
If you can only read two…
source: David Roodman's Microfinance Open Book Blog
As one Kiva team member notes, "It's kind of funny that we need to [try to] kill microfinance to show its positive effects."
This story from the Indian broadcaster NDTV shows another side of the Andhra Pradesh crisis: entrepreneurs who have been hurt by the loss of access to microcredit.
source: UNDP
Kiva now works in 60 countries. Here's an opportunity to interact with social data in real-time as this amazing interactive data explorer maps the Human Development Index.
Other great reads from this week…
source: Harvard Economics
Kiva likes to keep abreast of the latest thinking in how pro-poor methodologies can impact successful borrowing. This new study shows among other things how weekly repayment cycles at the beginning of a loan lead to better outcomes.
source: The Economist
A third of Kiva's portfolio has been directed to Africa. According to the African Development Bank, the emerging middle class in Africa has between $2 and $20 to spend a day. Read the Economist’s interesting take on this emerging middle class.
source: MIX Market
Kiva supports microfinance institutions that pursue responsible financial performance: neither making too much profit nor embracing too much risk. Read more about the role of profits in microfinance.
source: DevEx Newswire
Kiva is currently exploring new partnerships in Nigeria. Nigeria is one of just four countries that account for a huge portion of the world's poverty. The other three are China, India, and Pakistan. Read about an innovative health intervention to prevent malaria and raise HIV/AIDS awareness through an educational television series in Nigeria.
source: Center for Financial Inclusion Blog
Kiva works with Field Partners that embrace the Smart Campaign. Recently, the Client Protection Principles have been modified to include anti-discrimination protections.
source: Microfinance Gateway
Read about Kiva Field Partner Pro Mujer Bolivia and its successes in reaching poor women through integrated services.
source: BridgeSpan
Kiva holds decision-making driven by data as a fundamental value. Read this great piece about how to build measurement into the core of a not-for-profit.
source: The Economist
In just five years, Kiva has become part of the solution to the world's economic crisis. Mapping those countries where Kiva lends, to those without deposit accounts (savings), shows why the work we're doing is so important!
source: Microfinance Gateway
Impact. It's a word on many people's tongues when thinking about microfinance. If you have ever wondered about the impact of a Kiva loan, you need to read this excellent piece to understand how it works.
