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Field Visits to IDF and Green Hill
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A Grameen Trust resource person visited Mohra branch of Integrated Development Foundation on May 24-25, 2003 . This IDF branch began its activities in November, 2000 in Chandgaon, Chittagong district. Grameen Trust and IDF signed a seed capital agreement amounting US$40,000 to expand Mohra branch in August, 2002. The branch has 57 centres, 250 groups, 1190 members and 1113 loanees. To date it has disbursed as loans Tk.98,03,500 with a recovery rate of 100%. The branch is implementing both loan and savings activities as well as health care program, following closely the Grameen system. An internal audit of the branch had been completed , and the accounting and controls system of the branch are clear. A recommendation was made to increase the formation of groups and loan utilization.
The resource person also visited Green Hill’s Baghaichari branch in Khagrachari hill tracts region in Chittagong. The branch began activities in February 1999 and is implementing loan & savings activities for both indigenous and non indigenous members in an area that has good potential for expansion. So far the branch has disbursed Tk.21,09,000 to 431 members in 23 centers. The resource person recommended an audit for the branch and technical assistance improve planning and administration of the branch.
Report by Tapan Kumar Debnath
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Grameen Trust and Institute for Motivating Self-employment (IMSE) , India, a Grameen Trust partner organization in West Bengal jointly organized a training program on Grameen Basics in Labpur, India from June 13-17, 2003. Fifteen officers and staff of IMSE in India participated in the training, including a resource person from Grameen Trust participated. The training program was designed to provide Grameen Bank replicators with in depth knowledge on the essentials of Grameen Bank and provide them with tools to reach the poor and achieve their organizational goals and targets.
Report by Khalilur Rahman
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GB Deposit Balance Crosses Taka Ten Billion Mark !
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In June, 2003 Grameen Bank (GB) just crossed the magic figure of Tk. 10 billion (US $ 173 million) in its deposits. GB’s deposit balance is growing at 2.18 percent per month during the last 12 months. Ratio of borrower deposit stands at 4:11. Of the total deposit personal savings account for 31%, pension fund 29% and special savings account 19%.
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GGS Workshop in Philippines
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An International Workshop on Grameen Generalised System (GGS) was held from 28-30, June 2003 in Manila, jointly organised by Grameen Trust and PHILNET. A total of 28 participants from NGO MFIs, Rural Banks, Microfinance Banks, Wholesale Organisations, Networks and Foundations attended the workshop.
The workshop discussed the different features of GGS including loan and savings products, loan loss provision and write-off policy, star system and the Grameen microcredit highway.
The participants, divided into groups, examined the different aspects of the system and observed that the system has developed practicable solutions for problems of default, drop out, sustainability and financing faced by microfinance industry. The system is flexible and client friendly. It is tension free for both staff and clientele.
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The workshop also included a presentation on Management Information System (MIS) for microfinance program developed by ASHI, Philippines, in collaboration with Grameen Communications, Bangladesh. Participants took keen interest in the design of the MIS and tried to understand how it could be used to establish or improve their own system.
Report by H. I. Latifee
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Regulatory environment for microfinance in Philippines
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A joint meeting of the Grameen Global Network and PHILNET was held in Manila on 29 June 2003 in order to identify, understand and discuss the issues that are yet to be resolved for the rapid growth of microfinance industry especially in the contest of the Philippines.
Philippines is a country where microfinance program is technologically quite advanced and where regulatory requirements are in place but where there is still the need for further work in regulatory areas in order to create an enabling environment for the unhindered and rapid growth of microfinance industry.
Given that the Philippines has still a high incidence of poverty and that microfinance has demonstrated its success and ability to quickly reduce poverty, the participants argued that there is the need for more work in the areas of savings, taxation, licensing, interest rate and commercialisation to help microfinance industry to grow . All the actors including rural banks, NGO MFIs and microfinance banks could achieve more if these issues were immediately taken care of in consultation with all the parties concerned.
Report by H. I. Latifee
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Vietnam: Microfinance will become an effective tool against poverty |
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International experts in microfinance met for the first time, in a three-day seminar on May 22-24, in Ho Chi Minh City, to evaluate the experience of microfinance organizations providers of small-scale loans, to help the poor get out of poverty.
The Seminar on “Microfinance in Poverty Reduction and its Challenges” was organized by HCM City Labor Federation and Vietnam’s Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (C E P), coordinated with the Australian Aid Agency, AusAID. HCM City Vice Chairwoman, Huynh Thi Nhan told the seminar that poverty fell from 9.5% of the city population around 10 years ago, to 3% last year. An average of 8000 poor famalies have escaped poverty annually in the past decade (last year alone, 25,824 poor households never out of poverty). It was due to the governments preferential social policies directly applied to the poor in education and health care services, hunger elimination and poverty reduction program, job creation. Many poor people have been able to lift themselves out of poverty with small-scale loans offered by the microfinance organizations without any collateral.
It is necessary to have a secure legal framework to help microfinance providers deal with challenges and operate in a sustainable manner in the future, she said.
Extracted from Thoi Bao Tai China, May 23, 2003.
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Turkish Grameen Microcredit Project Launched
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The Turkish Grameen Microcredit Project was officially launched in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey on June 11, 2003. Professor Muhammad, on behalf of Grameen Trust and Professor Aziz Akgul, on behalf of the Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction signed an agreement for the implementation of a Grameen Trust build-operate-transfer microcredit project for the poor communities in urban and rural Diyarbakir. Professor H.I. Latifee, Managing Director of Grameen Trust and Mr Nusret Miroglu, Governor of Diyarbakir were present as witnesses.
In March 2003, Professor Aziz Akgul, who is also a member of Turkish National Assembly came to Bangladesh carrying a letter from the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan inviting Grameen to begin a microcredit project in Turkey. This was followed by a mission from Grameen Trust and the development of a project plan that was approved for funding by the Turkish Foundation.
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Prime Minister R. T. Erdogan of Turkey with participants of the International Conference for Poverty Reduction through Microcredit in Istanbul
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The project launch followed the International Conference on Poverty Reduction through Microcredit which took place in Istanbul from 9-10 June 2003.The conference, organized by Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction in consultation with Grameen Trust, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Erdogan, who reiterated the commitment of the Turkish Government to poverty alleviation and microcredit in Turkey.
Participants included high-level representatives of the Turkish government, NGO leaders, bankers, academics, journalists and donor organizations. Microcredit practitioners from the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, Nepal, Bosnia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Kosovo were invited to discuss the experience and impact of microcredit programs in those countries, focussing on issues such targeting of the very poor, achieving sustainability, options for financing and guidelines for regulatory environment of microcredit programs.
The Project Director and the two branch managers from Grameen have started preparatory work at the project sites in and around Diyarbakir. The recruitment of local staff is also in process. The first disbursement of loans to members is expected to take place during July 2003
Report by Lamiya Morshed
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