Grameen Foundation : What we do : Capital Mgmt & Advisory
Capital Management & Advisory Center
Connecting microfinance institutions with capital markets
Grameen Foundation's Capital Management & Advisory Center aims to harness the vast resources of the world's financial markets to support the rapid expansion of outreach to poor families by leading, poverty-focused microfinance institutions (MFIs). Microfinance is a solution scaleable to the size of the problem of global poverty. However, its potential remains largely unrealized. Resources provided by the international donor community and private philanthropists, traditional sources of funds for microfinance, meet only a small proportion of the market demand. Only the capital markets have the resources readily available to close the supply-demand gap, especially for those MFIs that focus on the poorest of the poor and who, because of regulatory constraints, cannot provide savings accounts, a potential source for financing that remains out of reach for many growth-ready MFIs.
The Capital Management & Advisory Center is active in connecting microfinance institutions with both the local and international capital markets. Our strategy is to make the capital markets work for poor families by facilitating linkages between leading MFIs and the capital markets, especially sourcing local currency financing from within the countries where MFIs work. We seek to do this in three key ways:
Capital Management & Advisory Center White Paper
Tapping the Financial Markets for Microfinance is a Grameen Foundation white paper that explores the opportunities and challenges microfinance institutions face in tapping capital markets for financing their growth. It was written by Jennifer Meehan, who provides deep insights into the microfinance movement and the mainstream financial sector.
Download the white paper:
English version | Arabic version
- Developing and managing a range of Grameen Foundation branded financial products that are simple yet flexible and meet the needs of MFIs globally, and cater to a variety of risk-return appetites among private funders.
- Establishing microfinance as a commercial investment opportunity by identifying, negotiating and executing capital market opportunities in local and, where relevant, international markets, as well as presenting microfinance in quantitative and qualitative terms that commercial investors understand.
- Demonstrating leadership linking microfinance and the capital markets by emphasizing local capital markets as the primary source of MFI financing and spreading Grameen Foundation capital markets knowledge to and replicating successes in countries with large populations of poor people.
Read more about our Capital Management & Advisory Center:
- Growth Guarantees, Grameen Foundation's First Capital Markets Product
- Capital Markets Transactions
- Capital Management & Advisory Center Advisory Committee
Grameen Foundation : What we do : Capital Mgmt & Advisory
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
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