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More than 1.5mn loans worth $831mn have been given out in the past seven years, said the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), which was set up by the government in 2003 to coordinate the sector. Thirty years of conflict have shattered Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure, leaving two-thirds of the roughly 30mn population illiterate and at least a third in dire poverty.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) at Colorado State University provides innovative training in community-based development (online and face-to-face), consultation, evaluation, and project support services for individuals and governmental, international non-governmental, and community-based organizations around the world.

Village Earth's mission is to help reconnect communities to the resources that promote human well-being by enhancing social and political empowerment, community self-reliance and self-determination.

Rural Finance is about providing financial services for people living in rural areas. This Learning Centre aims to assist organisations in developing countries to build their capacity to deliver improved financial services which meet the needs of rural households and businesses.

Oikocredit, the innovative development financing organisation, has been given an award in recognition of its contribution to socially responsible investing. The award has been made by The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).

The axiom "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime" is widely accepted among the international development community, and for good reason. But taken on its own, this axiom leaves out very important principles.

CGAP, an independent microfinance center based at the World Bank, today announced a new partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to expand ongoing global efforts to use information and communication technologies (ICT), especially mobile phones, to increase access to basic financial services for the poor. In addition to a 2006 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CGAP funding, DFID will provide GBP 8 million to the CGAP Technology Program.

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.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new partnership of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) for the purpose of launching a new Microfinance Growth Fund for the Western Hemisphere. The fund will provide stable medium and longer-term sources of finance to microfinance institutions and microfinance investment vehicles to help rebuild their capacity to lend during this difficult period and to increase the supply of finance for micro and small businesses as recovery takes hold.

According to a report in the Financial Times and an article from the Microfinance Gateway, fledgling microfinance projects are helping to revive the Iraqi economy after years of public sector dominance, a decade of sanctions, and six years of violence. The US, and specifically its military, is actively involved in these microfinance schemes as part of its war on terrorism. The projects typically involve loans of a few thousand dollars given to people with between one and three employees. By the end of January 2009, the US had made 41,728 loans, totaling USD 59.7 million.

Led by a consortium of partners, project supports GOE’s Safety Net Program, a new nationwide development project that will assist poor, rural households in food insecure areas that benefit from the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). This three year project will move households towards graduation from PSNP through market-driven approaches to diversify their livelihoods, build assets and link to financial services and markets.

Welcome to this blog about Microfinance, Innovations and Sustainable Development